The Battle of the Brave

The fireworks, the rock concerts, the smell of burning hot dogs....oh and the small issue of a million dollar tennis tournament - this could only be the circus that is the US Open!


So far this week we have seen the early exits in the women's side, Anastassia Myskina, Martina Hingis and Nicole Vaidisova, we have had a day totally washed out by rain and we have seen probably one of the best matches of the tournament last night - Andre Agassi v Marcos Baghdatis.

The night session opened to rapturous applause as American hero Andre Agassi and Cypriot showman Marcos Baghdatis took to the court for their 2nd round encounter. The atmosphere was electric with the sort of energy and expectation usually kept for a heavy weight boxing bout, rather than for a simple game of tennis. This match was no simple game of tennis though...it had everything!

Played before a capacity crowd of nearly 24,000 on Arthur Ashe Court - the two men gave it their all in a three hour and 48 minute epic. After a close start to the match Agassi took the early advantage by leading the match by 2 sets to 0, but this was not enough to deter the mighty Marcos Baghdatis who managed to come back into the match and after playing some genius shot making took the next two sets to even up the score. After a fall on the court Baghdatis sustained a wrist injury which still was not enough to discourage the brave Cypriot.

Marcos Baghdatis








As they headed into the fifth set both men were playing at their best - and the crowd (predictably mostly biased in favor of the American) were loving every minute of the fight. Towards the end of the match the 21-year-old Cypriot suffered severe cramps in both legs and at one point was hardly able to stand but still managed to fire an ace down the court - this moment summed up the determination and couragous heart of both men in this great match! In the end Agassi was slightly the stronger mentally and managed to close the epic match with a 6/4 6/4 3/6 5/7 7/5 triumph.

"I just wanted to fight, you know? Playing Andre on the center court of Arthur Ashe, I was ready to die on the court." said Baghdatis in the post-match press conference.

"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," said soon to be retiring champion Agassi

"He's just a true professional with a lot of style and a lot of charisma and a lot of talent."



Agassi now goes on to play German Benjamin Becker in the 3rd round.