Agassi is aiming for back-to-back Grand Slams Latest photos from day five

Andre Agassi was back on form at Roland Garros as he took 26th seed Xavier Malisse apart in straight sets.

Agassi was a shadow of his usual self in the last round, when he had to come from two sets and a break down to beat Croatian teenager Mario Ancic.

But the Las Vegan had clearly put that troubled performance behind him as he beat Malisse 6-4 7-5 7-5.

"I was controlling the ball a lot better than in the previous match," Agassi said.

"That's a nice luxury because that determines if you're going to stay in an offensive position."

It was a fitting way to register his 50th victory on the clay courts of Roland Garros.

Malisse himself came from two sets down in his second-round match against Stefan Koubek, but neither player showed signs of tiredness.

Most wins at Roland Garros Guillermo Vilas (58) Ivan Lendl (53) Andre Agassi (50) Bjorn B�rg (49) Mats Wilander (47)

Agassi set his standard by breaking early in the first set and was rarely troubled as he then served it out.

The American was finding an almost perfect line and length on his groundstrokes and Malisse spent much of the match on the defensive chasing from one side of the court to the other.

He did not let Agassi have it all his own way but despite firing a number of spectacular winners the American always seemed to have just too much.

Agassi took the second set by breaking as Malisse served to take it into a tiebreak, and earned a crucial break in the third at 5-5 with a brilliant forehand lob.

He completed the win with little trouble and now faces unseeded Brazilian Flavio Saretta in the last 16.

Friday's men's round-up

Agassi is the only American left in the men's draw, but afterwards he said there was no need for concern about the future of tennis in the United States.

"Clay court tennis has never been a strength of ours - when you grow up on hard courts you learn to play a lot differently," he said.

"Guys who grow up on clay see the game differently and play the game differently - but most of the American players are still young so they have a lot of time which is the good news."