Agassi showing no signs of age

Andre Agassi overpowered Andreas Vinciguerra of Sweden to move into the third round of the US Open at Flushing Meadows with a 7-6 (7/1) 6-1 6-4 victory.

While many of his peers are retiring, Agassi, the 2003 Australian Open champion, hardly seems to be slowing down as he aims for a ninth Grand Slam title.

The 33-year-old top seed, playing in his 17th consecutive US Open, needed just one hour 53 minutes to defeat the 22-year-old left-hander after taking only 86 minutes to beat Spain’s Alex Corretja on Monday.

“It was a difficult match because we never played each other before, so it always takes a while to settle down,” Agassi said.

“I felt like once I settled down, I started hitting my shots a lot cleaner, then felt really good about it.”

Two Americans who hope to follow Agassi’s career path are 20-year-old Robby Ginepri and 22-year-old Taylor Dent.

Ginepri beat 23rd-seeded Wayne Ferreira 6-2 6-4 6-7 (0/7) 6-2 to advance to the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time, while Dent defeated Nikolay Davydenko of Russia 6-3 6-4 7-6 (9/7).

Gregory Carraz outlasted fellow Frenchman and 31st seed Arnaud Clement 3-6 1-6 6-2 7-6 (7/3) 6-1.

Earlier, third seed Juan Carlos Ferrero and Lleyton Hewitt, the sixth seed, were both forced to work hard before advancing to the third round.

Ferrero, the reigning French Open champion, battled past Austria’s Jurgen Melzer 1-6 7-6 (7/2) 6-2 6-4, and Hewitt also lost the first set before beating Korea’s Hyung-Taik Lee 5-7 6-2 6-2 6-4.

Eleventh seed Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand reached the third round at Flushing Meadows for the first time after beating Slovakia’s Dominik Hrbaty 6-4 6-4 6-3.

And former finalist Todd Martin of the United States outbattled French Open runner-up and 16th seed Martin Verkerk of the Netherlands 6-3 6-4 6-7 (5/7) 7-6 (11/9).

Yevgeny Kafelnikov, the 28th seed from Russia, dispatched Kenneth Carlsen 4-6 6-2 6-3 6-3 to improve to 6-0 lifetime against the Dane.