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.

“At the same time you have got a top-notch job to do. You’re trying to beat the best in the world. It’s a conflict that doesn’t leave you in necessarily the easiest spot.

“But I did manage to focus on the work once it got going, but I was a bit concerned.”

After winning the second set with a thrilling rally during the tie-break, Agassi lost the first four games of the third but after dropping the initial point of the fifth game, he opted to change rackets.

The change seemed to work as Agassi won the next five games, taking a 5-4 lead on an ace, and the 36-year-old added: “Then I settled down. The game got slower because I was actually hitting the ball the way I wanted to.”

When the three-hour, 31-minute match ended, the cheers that had slowly become louder turned into a standing ovation as Agassi bowed to the crowd.

Agassi’s remarkable career will continue tomorrow against eighth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus.

Of the fans, Agassi added: “They’ve always been important, the way they have pulled for me and got me through so many difficult situations. This was no different.

“It works against you at times because you’re trying so hard for them. Sometimes you can grind your gears. Sometimes you find the zone where it’s just a beautiful thing to feel it and just let it go through you. That’s what really happened in that third set.

“To come back from 4-0 and control the match from that point was me not getting in the way of them.

“Them cheering for me doesn’t hurt my concentration. It makes me try harder. Sometimes trying harder keeps you from staying as relaxed as you need to be — from 100% to zero.”

The second day’s matches were three and a half hours late starting because of wet weather and then just 21 minutes play was possible before another short rain delay.

The players were halted for a second time after 37 minutes.

Women’s top seed Amelie Mauresmo was struggling against German qualifier Kristina Barrois, winning the first set 6-1 but trailing 5-2 when the rain returned.