New York – To appreciate the appeal of Andre Agassi at this U.S. Open, consider that on Thursday afternoon third-seeded Lleyton Hewitt was squirming against Jarkko Nieminen at Arthur Ashe Stadium. This was a match Hewitt was supposed to dominate. Instead, he opened by losing two of the first three sets.
Smack in the fury of the scrap, with 16,067 fans in the stands and TV cameras focused on the surprising action, Agassi showed up to practice on a court outside the stadium. It was only a few yards away.
Maybe this was newsworthy, since Agassi had seemingly just finished his uplifting rebound victory over James Blake a few minutes after 1 a.m. EDT on Thursday. Only 11 hours later, Agassi was back at it, hacking and perfecting his craft.
Or maybe it was more.
TV cameras quickly switched to Agassi stroking the ball. There was Agassi mingling with the crowd that suddenly assembled. There was Agassi signing autographs for the crowd. The cameras followed Agassi as he exited. Every single fan inside might have bolted for the practice area, knowing Agassi was nearby.
Oh, Hewitt put an end to the silliness and beat Nieminen 2-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.
But after what Blake and Agassi did in a match that started Wednesday night and finished Thursday morning, the hangover eclipsed all action Friday.
Agassi, seeded No. 7, won it after losing the first two sets, something he has never done here before. He won it with mind games accompanied by savvy tennis. He won it by patiently letting Blake fly around early with enthusiasm that by the match’s end had turned into exhaustion.
Agassi is 35.
Blake is 25.
Here is some of what Blake said afterward: “You’re just thinking about kind of anything that had gone wrong or could have gone right in the match. And then it’s just up to the net to congratulate him. Your legs are relieved that they don’t have to run anymore.”
You have to give Blake credit for that one. He basically is saying that Agassi eventually, literally, ran him off the court. He graciously gave Agassi the type of kudos not easily offered in this sport. Blake bowed to Agassi. He saluted him.
He joined the New York crowd.
This is the 125th year of this tournament, and Agassi has played in 20 of them.
He was a teenager when he first arrived here, and New York has embraced him as a son and has watched him grow. Numerous fans here told me that Thursday.
They saw him enter and soon become a brash kid with long hair and pierced ears and denim shorts on the court and the “Image is Everything” commercial slogan that made him seem more hip than hype. Then he won this tournament in 1994 and again in 1999, and that planted more substance into their union.
They watched his friendship with Barbra Streisand and his marriage to Brooke Shields in 1997 that barely lasted two years. Two years after that came his marriage to Steffi Graf. Agassi become a father. He is from Las Vegas.
New Yorkers certainly identify with Vegas.
His charity work there has been applauded.
They know he trained hard in recent weeks to overcome an inflamed sciatic nerve in his back just to be healthy for this tournament.
As one New Yorker at the Open put it: “We have seen all of the pain and pride in his life. We’ve seen him grow up from a punk to a class act. He is a different player now. A different person.”
He is playing a swank brand of tennis.
He can play it slow, play it fast, play it soft, play it hard, still serves big and retains that numbing return on any variety of the game’s best servers. If he beats Robby Ginepri on Saturday, he will advance to the final on Sunday. A final played on Sept. 11, a day full of tributes for the terrorist attacks four years ago.
Agassi said of his tingling victory over Blake: “The way a mentality like mine sort of works, this means as much to me as doing it in the finals. This is what it’s about. It’s about just authentic competition … and letting it be just about tennis.”
With Agassi in this Open, it is more than about tennis. It is about a bond. Agassi said New York brings out the best in him. He draws the best from New Yorkers. Especially now, with no American women left in the competition, they are embracing him as they did Jimmy Connors in this tournament in 1991. Agassi called his latest action “a night for tennis – tennis won tonight.”
Actually, no.
The eastern United States was forced to stay up past 1 a.m. to watch this match; that meant many who would have loved it did not even bother. A dispute between CBS and the USA Network meant some in the West missed viewing the mesmeric final set. Why the U.S. Open would start a match of this caliber at 10:30 p.m. Eastern time makes little sense.
They tell you they have a global audience.
Then change the name to the Global Open.
This year, as far as New Yorkers are concerned, it might as well be the Agassi Open.
Everyone keeps asking him if this is his last U.S. Open. He said they have been asking him that for the past four years now.
They are latching on to Andre Agassi here – just in case.
Staff writer Thomas George can be reached at 303-820-1994 or tgeorge@denverpost.com.
