Agassi’s swansong extended after five-set thriller
Veteran American overcomes Marcos Baghdatis in five-set thriller
Staff and agencies
Friday September 1, 2006
_Guardian Unlimited_ ()
Andre Agassi extended his career by at least another match after
overcoming Marcos Baghdatis in a five-set marathon.
The 36-year-old raced to a two-set and four-game lead as the Cypriot
battled with cramp and a sore wrist, but Baghdatis then rallied to
take the second-round match into a final-set decider. However, Agassi,
who will retire after this tournament, showed his experience to win
6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 7-5 after nearly four hours of play.
The American had received an injection of cortisone prior to the match
to help ease his chronic back pain, although it was 21-year-old
Baghdatis who seemed to suffer more during the match, finally
succumbing to exhaustion in the fifth set. "In the fourth set it
wasn’t my back getting tight it was my throat and my breathing," said
Agassi. "I just fought hard and to see someone struggle so hard
physically at the end was not an ideal way for such a high-standard
game of tennis to end. I felt so good today and what a time to feel
it!"
Baghdatis said he wasn’t surprised that he had suffered with cramp
while Agassi, 15 years his senior, had not. He said: "It wasn’t
physical: I think it was about stress. It’s not easy. You have to
control yourself. Andre has more experience than me, so maybe that’s
why."
Agassi, who will face German Benjamin Becker in the third round,
added: "It’s a guy like that that makes it easier to walk away from
the game because you see what kind of hands it’s in. He’s just a true
professional with a lot of style and a lot of charisma and a lot of
talent." When asked whether he thought his body would recover in time
for the match, he said: "I can give it three, four hours, but
afterwards I just don’t know what to expect anymore. It’s just not
getting easier."
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
