Andre bids farewell

It was a match that nobody but Andre wanted him to play. Too tired and too hurt after the fantastic marathon against Baghdatis Thursday night. Agassi's father himself said that he wished his son had retired directly after that match, to spare him the pain of having to play relative unknown Benjamin Becker, a collegiate player making his first U.S. Open appearance. To many, a loss to Becker would be a letdown after Baghdatis, and with Andy Roddick lurking in the wings. An Agassi-Roddick setup would have been a passing of the torch, old king versus young prince, though it was not to be. There were moments as the fourth set wore on where it appeared that Becker's conditioning would allow Agassi to creep back into the match, perhaps forcing things to a dramatic fifth set victory for Agassi, but Becker's serve did not waiver. Unable to capitalize on a breakpoint at 4-3, Agassi allowed Becker back in, finally losing 6-7. As Agassi shook hands, tears were in his eyes, and the crowd rose to their feet. Sitting his chair, trying to compose himself enough to address the audience, even Becker remained standing, cheering. Barely able to hold the microphone, Agassi gave an emotion farewell, and tennis' prodigal son walked off court for the last time.