Agassi keeps cool to stay in Open

ANDRE AGASSI admitted he had to overcome the emotional atmosphere at Flushing Meadows as he staved off retirement with a riveting 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (10-8) 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 victory over Romania’s Andrei Pavel.

It was the first match at the newly named USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center and 23,736 fans — a record crowd for a night session — watched Agassi stage an emotional comeback in the US Open first round.

Agassi, who will retire after this tournament, said: “I didn’t anticipate it to be this difficult emotionally. You want to take it in because you know how special it is. You feel it and it’s very special to me to be here.