Andre Agassi ended a 13-year wait with a straight sets victory over Tommy Haas to claim the ATP Masters Series event in Rome.

Exactly 13 years after wasting a championship point against Alberto Mancini, Agassi, the number nine seed, grasped his chance by defeating the seventh-ranked German 6-3 6-3 6-0.

The victory gave the 32-year-old his 14th Tennis Masters Series titles in six different venues.

Agassi was in no mood to hang around, and dominated the encounter from start to finish.

The American broke in the fifth game of the opening set to lead 3-2 before Haas' double fault left him serving to win.

It did not get any better for Haas in the second set either, and when Agassi broke the German's serve to lead 3-1, it was always going to be a long way back.

But Haas demonstrated the fighting spirit he had shown throughout the tournament, and broke back in the seventh game to get back on terms.

But Agassi restored his lead a game later, before winning the next two games to take the set 6-3.

An immediate break of serve for Agassi at the start of the third broke the German's spirit, and after winning 13 points in a row, the American reached championship point.

It arrived two points later when Haas put a backhand into the net, and Agassi's victory celebrations began.

"Today was a great day for me," said Agassi, who moves into second position in the ATP Champions Race.

"It couldn't be more perfect than to come here and do so well.

"As we were hitting the ball back and forth, I was getting the better of the points.

"I was making him work harder, I was controlling most of the points, and in the end, it was just a little bit better of a day for me."

Agassi was delighted to have added his latest trophy, the 51st in a distinguished career, to the cabinet, especially after events 13 years ago.

He added: "It's something you don't really admit fully to yourself because it's pretty much a disappointment when you came so close.

"But you realise, as you size up all these tournaments outside the Grand Slams, that this has as much, if not probably more history, than all of them.

"It's been a staple in the game of tennis and it's just an honour for me to win."

For Haas, playing in his first final on clay, it was not the experience he was looking for, but he gave full credit to his opponent.

He said: "A few things came at the wrong time in the match, I suppose. You have to win the big points.

"Especially against somebody like Andre when he's playing like he did this week. If you have one or two chances, you've got to take advantage of it as much as you can. If you don't, he just basically punishes you left and right."

The German was delighted to be in the top five in the ATP Champions Race 2002 leaderboard with this week's work.

He said: "I'm really happy. I mean, the way I played here this week was extremely good.

"I didn't expect this to happen. Reaching the final of another Masters Series is another step to look forward to for myself.

"I beat a lot of good players here this week and being back in the top five in the Champions Race is terrific."