Agassi Rallies at Paris Masters

Andre Agassi overcame 35 unforced errors and beat Argentina’s Gaston Gaudio, 6-4, 6-7 (1), 6-4, Tuesday to advance to the third round of the Paris Masters.

Agassi, a two-time tournament champion, will face the winner of the second-round match between Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson and Tommy Robredo.

Top-seeded Lleyton Hewitt also reached the third round in Paris, easily defeating Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen, 6-2, 6-4. The Australian next meets Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who eliminated Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador, 6-3, 7-6 (8).

Agassi trails Hewitt by only 43 points in the ATP Champions Race, which determines the year-end rankings. The American hasn’t won a major this season, but he has taken three of eight Masters Series events, which are second only to majors in importance.

“Feeling like I’m out there competing for it keeps my juices flowing through the end of the year,” Agassi said. “It motivates me to do it next year. It makes me feel like I can do it next year.”

In another match, American James Blake rallied to defeat Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4.

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The parents of Venus and Serena Williams have completed their divorce.

The divorce won’t affect the advisory roles Richard and Oracene Williams play in their daughters’ tennis careers, said Raymone Bain, a publicist for Oracene and Serena Williams.

The Williamses married in 1980 and separated about 18 months ago, Bain said.

Jurisprudence

Boxing promoter Bob Arum testified in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., that he believed rival Don King forged a contract with Julio Cesar Chavez and underpaid him before Arum signed the fighter for two matches in 1998.

King is seeking at least $14 million in damages for losing 1 1/2 years of profits on Chavez. King testified that Arum should have known the fighter was lying about his agreements with him.

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Ian Thorpe, Australia’s three-time Olympic swimming champion, was granted a restraining order against a man and woman who had earlier been charged with stalking him at his local pool.

Thorpe, 20, went to a local magistrates court in Sydney to seek a personal Apprehended Violence Order against 27-year-old stripper Taylor Martin, and Vernon Ray Hopkins, a 32-year-old married father.

Thorpe contacted police in January after the pair left a series of notes on his car, the last of which was accompanied by a bumblebee soft toy and a single rose, the Daily Telegraph newspaper said. The attention prompted Thorpe’s management to increase security at the swimming center he uses for training.

“I’ve always appreciated the genuine attention and support of my fans and I’ve always recognized my responsibility to meet the needs of my genuine fans,” Thorpe said in a statement. “However, this was not such a situation.”

Miscellany

Prada avoided an upset loss in an all-Italian duel with Mascalzone Latino, and Oracle had a win ripped from its grasp within 150 yards of the finish today in a bizarre round of America’s Cup challenger racing at Auckland, New Zealand.

Oracle had a winning lead against Sweden’s Victory Challenge when racing time expired.

The clash of American rivals OneWorld and Stars & Stripes also was abandoned on its last leg when the time limit expired. The race was already contentious, thrown under protest by both teams because of the race committee’s handling of a baffling downwind leg.

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Michael Weiss, a two-time U.S. champion and Olympian, is changing coaches from Audrey Weisiger to Don Laws.

Weiss, the 1999 and 2000 national champion, was with Weisiger since 1984. But a recent slump -- he finished fifth against a weak field at Skate America last week -- led to the switch to Laws.

Laws coached Scott Hamilton to the 1984 Olympic gold medal, as well as to four national and world crowns. He has been working with Weiss on a part-time basis for several months.