Brother Andre, we pray for you

Somone in the Wenzel office joked just before Thursday night's match, that the only way Agassi was going to beat the younger, faster, and stronger Baghdatis, was if Baghdatis fell in the tunnel walking out to the court and broke both his legs. Little did we know how close that prediction would be . . . Andre started off in fine form, the forearm errors from the Pavel match were gone, and he was able to control the match from the baseline. Perhaps Baghdatis was too overwhelmed by the moment, but Agassi took the first two sets 6-4, 6-4. It was a different story in the third however, as Agassi appeared listless and Baghdatis ran down balls and fired them back with authority, using a wicked drop shot that forced Agassi to run and crouch towards the net. With three consectuive breaks of Andre's serve, Baghdatis took the third set. Marcos Baghdatis, the young Cypriot with a bright tennis future, looked ready to end Agassi's career as he cruised through the fourth as well. For Agassi, the well seemed empty, and he stopped making cross-court runs to return balls. Then, early on serve in the fifth, it happened. Baghdatis started cramping in both legs. Watching Baghdatis hobble around on court seemed to rejuvenate Andre Agassi, but Baghdatis wouldn't go away carrying the match to the verge of tiebreak before putting a return wide to end it all. The 23,000 New Yorkers who had stayed well past midnight went wild and Agassi prepares to meet Benjamin Becker later today.