Agassi makes hard work of it

Andre Agassi will face Albert Costa in the quarterfinals of the Rome Masters, but only after scraping past Agustin Calleri 7-6, 7-5.

The American, who battled for more than two hours to see off the Argentine, said: "I've known Al for many years and he's always tough to play, especially on clay.

"It was good for me to get my concentration working. He is playing so well and he hits the ball so big. I got a bit lucky at the end." Tommy Haas is the highest seed left in the tournament.

The German, seeded seven, was handed the the daunting task of playing tricky Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean, but he had no such worries and brushed him aside 6-3, 6-4 to set up a meeting with another Spaniard, Carlos Moya.

Andy Roddick is also into the last eight. The American edged past South Africa's Wayne Ferreira 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.