Agassi left cursing his tiebreak hoodoo

Former world number one Andre Agassi must be cursing his luck in tiebreaks.

The American has played seven tiebreaks so far this year and lost six of them, a dismal record for anyone let alone a seven-time grand slam champion.

Defending champion Agassi lost 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (8-6) to Swiss Michel Kratochvil in the first round of the Indian Wells Masters on Tuesday to surrender the title he won here last year.

"It felt like one of those days," said Agassi. "So little decides a match like that."

The 31-year-old from Las Vegas has lost more than half of the tiebreaks he has played during his 16 years as a professional and he thinks he knows why.

"I think breakers favour in a lot of cases the big server," said Agassi. "But I think it's also a bit of how just one or two points go, so you've always got to attribute a bit of luck to it."

Despite his misfortune when it comes to winning tiebreaks, Agassi believes his record is far from unusual.

"You're talking about the best professionals in the world playing a sudden death tiebreaker. .500 (50 percent) is pretty standard."

Agassi, currently fifth in the ATP entry system but almost certain to drop out of the top 10 following his defeat, will be hoping his luck improves at next week's Masters Series event in Key Biscayne.

He is also defending champion there and another first round defeat could put in jeopardy his place in the top 20 of the entry system.