For the second day in a row, the headliners in the men?s draw delivered the goods, producing a stirring match. Yesterday?s three-set win by Tim Henman over Andy Roddick was matched in intensity by Roger Federer?s comeback semifinal victory over Andre Agassi today.

To wind up the day?s action, our champions were crowned in men?s and women?s doubles.

---

Roger Federer (1) def. Andre Agassi (5), 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Semifinal
Previous head-to-head: Agassi leads 3-2

The last time Andre Agassi and Roger Federer (pictured at right) faced each other was at the Masters Cup in Houston, where Andre had the unpleasant experience of losing twice to Roger at the same tournament. Federer had edged Agassi in the Masters Cup round robin, before beating him decisively in the final. Today, the number one out of Switzerland showed that those Houston wins were no fluke, but not before he was given a severe test by the determined American legend.

Early in the first set, Agassi was dominating the action. ?In the beginning I was struggling with my timing,? admitted Federer after the match, ?particularly on the backhand side.? Agassi?s game plan was to pound Federer?s backhand relentlessly, and it was paying off. ?You have to make Roger beat you with his backhand,? said Agassi, ?because it?s definitely the weaker of the two shots.?

In the opening set, Agassi was also doing damage with his feared service returns. A big backhand return by Agassi put Federer?s service game in trouble at 2-2, 0-30, and when Federer pulled a forehand wide it was 0-40. A service winner saved one break point, but then? a double fault! Agassi now led, 3-2 with a break in hand.

Agassi confidently finished out the set to take a 6-3 lead. Clearly off form, Federer was doing little to hurt the solid Agassi. In the first set Federer had no break points, and registered 12 unforced errors, most on the backhand side, compared to only 2 for the determined Agassi. As the Swiss walked to his chair after the first set concluded, his furrowed brow betrayed his concern.

One reason Federer has risen to the top of the game is that he is now finding a way to win matches when he is not at his best. We wondered, would he able to turn this match around?

In the second set, it appeared to us that Roger began risking less, keeping the ball in play and going more often to safer slice to avoid errors with his wobbly backhand. With Agassi serving at 0-1, 15-40, Federer earned his first break points of the match. Agassi was having a letdown, and by this stage he already had made more errors (4) than he had in the entire first set. A good forehand return on Federer?s first break point drew an error from Agassi?s racquet? and Agassi?s brief sag had given Federer the opening he needed.

Still, Agassi continued to pressure Federer?s serve in the rest of this set. But Andre was unable to break through. At 3-1, 30-40 Federer saved a break point with a first serve that Agassi had a pretty good swing at, but netted the return. When Federer finally held in this game, the normally subdued Swiss let forth a very un-Rogerish cry of ?Come on!?

At 5-3, Federer had some difficulty serving out the second set. After a couple of backhand errors, Federer found himself staring at a break point. He tried a risky second serve that was good. Agassi got it back, but Federer controlled the point, and Agassi finally committed an error on the forehand. At deuce, Agassi dumped a second serve return into the net, and on Federer?s first set point, Andre pushed a backhand wide. The fans inched forward in their seats, as a third set would decide the issue.

It was clear that by now, Roger had found his timing. How would Andre respond?

The marathon first game of the decisive frame went to 7 deuces. Federer wasted three break points, his best chance being the first, when he floated a second serve return long and shouted ?No way!? But more significantly, Andre was making a hash of 4 game points, blowing a succession of ridiculously easy shots, much to the amazement of the incredulous crowd. Finally on Agassi?s 5th game point Federer looped a routine forehand too long, and it was Agassi?s turn to deliver a cry of ?Come on!?

Federer wasted another break opportunity at 2-2, 30-40, when his try at a backhand winner found the net. Then Federer again found himself in trouble serving at 3-4. He fought off two break points. The second of these was a tense 21-stroke rally that was cautious on both sides until Federer took the first risk, and whipped a forehand down the line for a clean winner.

In the following game, with Agassi serving at 4-4, the fatal break finally came. Andre looked fairly comfortable at 40-15, but Roger kept the game alive by running down an Agassi stretch volley and whipping a winner. Federer went on to win the rest of the points in this crucial game:

• 40-30: A poor forehand error from Agassi.
• Deuce: Federer chips and charges off a second serve return, and nails an overhead winner.
• Advantage Federer, break point: Agassi lamely pulls a backhand wide.

Agassi?s comments on this game: ?That?s one thing that makes him a great player, that he sort of strikes so quickly. You never know. He can play just a few minutes of great tennis and that?s enough to get him over the hurdle.?

Serving for the match, Federer held at love, on his first match point blasting an ace on the sideline. Make the final: 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The happy Swiss took his bows, and was cheered warmly as he threw his wristband high into the crowd. Agassi walked off to even louder cheers, waving to the adoring fans.

One thing we noticed in the last two days is that, judging by the crowd reactions in their respective matches, Andre appears considerably more popular than his young countryman Andy Roddick. At least in Indian Wells. In view of all that Agassi has done for the sport in this country, this should not be surprising. Or could it be that the fans in this retirement community can better relate to the old guy? Perhaps, the truth is that the spectators suspected that the great Agassi, now 33 years old, might have played his last match in this stadium.

The victorious Federer compared this hard-won victory to his 4-6, 6-3, 6-0, 6-4 triumph over Lleyton Hewitt in the fourth round of this year?s Australian Open. ?Quick first set. Never found my rhythm, he played too good. Then in the middle of the second, you know, I started to feel my way into the match and turned it around? That?s what I wasn?t able to do a few years ago, because I would panic.?

While today?s exciting showdown felt like a final, it wasn?t that quite yet. The real final comes tomorrow, and Federer has yet another tough obstacle awaiting him in the person of in-form Tim Henman. The 2002 Indian Wells runner-up, Henman put in a workmanlike performance to bring the surprise semifinalist, charismatic Georgian Irakli Labadze, back to earth with a 6-3, 6-2 win.

Federer has lost 6 of his 7 career matches to Henman, and despite Federer?s outstanding current form, the Englishman is not lacking in confidence. ?I?ve beaten him this year [6-3, 7-6 in Rotterdam], and I?m going to try and continue that run of form against him. It?s still going to be one of the toughest tests right now. He?s playing as well as anyone. I was going to say better than anyone,? said Henman before adding with a sly grin, ?But I think I?m playing all right.? That's as close to "trash talking" as you'll get from Gentleman Tim.

As for Agassi, it?s off to Miami for the Nasdaq-100 Open, a tournament that has been kinder to him than this one. Andre has won Miami six times, compared to one title at Indian Wells. After Miami, while Agassi will play the French Open in May, he plans a very light clay court schedule, perhaps even skipping the entire clay court season leading up to Roland Garros. ?I?m not terribly convinced that the clay season is an important part to my career right now,? confessed Andre.

---

Doubles champions crowned

The first trophies of the tournament were handed out to the world?s top women?s doubles team, Virginia Ruano Pascual/Paola Suarez. The top seeds easily defeated the off-form second seeds Svetlana Kuznetsova/Elena Likhovtseva in the final, 6-1, 6-2. It was a rematch of the Australian Open final, also won by Ruano/Suarez, 6-3, 6-4.

Ruano and Suarez cover for each other brilliantly, and shift into the open spaces of the court with an uncanny instinct. At one time we saw Kuznetsova jostle Likhovtseva out of the way to play a ball that did not belong to her -- something one would never see from the champions.

Suarez had told us earlier this week that she and ?ViVi?, who have been playing together for eight years, agreed at the start of the year that they would not play with any other partners this year, with the goal of finishing the season ranked co-number one in the individual rankings. Given that Suarez suffered a calf injury and had to take time off the tour after the Australian Open, we wondered if Ruano considered breaking the promise during her partner?s injury layoff. ?Yes?, said ?ViVi? with a smile. " But I didn?t play, so?? ?She was waiting for me,? said Paola, and Virginia added, ?I get holidays at home.?

The winning pair, good friends off the court, have developed a tremendous understanding over the years and are constantly smiling during matches -- especially those like today?s. ?We enjoy to play together,? said Suarez. ?We have fun, yeah.?

The men?s doubles final was also won by good friends who like to have fun. In a dandy duel between unseeded teams, the champions were Frenchmen Arnaud Clément/Sébastien Grosjean, who bested the Zimbabwean Davis Cup pair of Wayne Black/Kevin Ullyett, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

It certainly wasn?t easy for Clément/Grosjean. The Zimbabweans had looked home and dry, up a break in the third. But the dynamic little French pair broke Ullyett, who up to then had been the most solid player on the court, at 3-0.

The key game was at 5-5, when Black dropped serve. Clément played this game spectacularly, registering a winner that split Black/Ullyett up the middle, a reflex volley winner, and, on break point, a return winner up the alley. Grosjean told us that he enjoyed watching the Clément show. ?Yeah, he played a great game and hit some winners. On that return he saw the guy [Ullyett] moving?. Grosjean served out the match, saving a break point before finishing the job.

Clément/Grosjean were welcomed back to the locker room with applause and choruses of ?Bravo!? by the remaining members of the French contingent, led by Grosjean?s chrome-domed coach Thierry Tulasne. Like Ruano/Suarez, the Frenchmen are good friends and mesh together well. They were clearly delighted with the win. ?First, we are singles players,? said Arnaud, ?but we are very happy to be together on the court.?

The French pair had beaten two crack doubles teams on the road to their second title together, top seeds Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan and defending champions Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor, but they said the valiant Zimbabweans were the toughest test of all. Clément said, ?I was just telling Sébastien after the match, I think they were the best team we played this week?.

---

Quotable quotes

Andre Agassi was asked to comment on the fact that Federer has reached number one despite not having a coach. ?I think not having a coach and doing what he?s doing is a testament to his skill. I think no coach is better than an average coach.? With a wry smile, Andre added, ?A good coach is an asset that hopefully he won?t have.?

Tim Henman is often called a serve-volleyer, but he would not call himself one. ?No, probably not. I certainly have that option. If you were to look back over this tournament, I?ve played five matches. What percentage have I served and volleyed? I?m pretty sure it?s less than 50%.?

Arnaud Clément seemed to doubt that his doubles title with Sébastien Grosjean might convince French Davis Cup captain Guy Forget to pick them to play doubles in France?s second round tie against Switzerland next month. ?Maybe one time, one day, I don?t know. It?s not my decision, so we?ll see. But we showed we can play good doubles together against some very good teams. We have good singles players who can also play good doubles. There a lot of combinations, and the captain has a lot of choice. So we?ll see.? Recall that the pillar of France?s Davis Cup doubles teams in recent years, Fabrice Santoro, does not get along well with Forget and was left off the French team for their first round win last month over the Czech Republic.