U.S. OPEN NOTES : Sure, He Has Forgotten All About It

Think tennis players don’t remember losses? Think again.

Andre Agassi was asked to think of memorable matches he has played against Boris Becker, his opponent in Saturday’s semifinal.

He came up with a Davis Cup match from 1989. Asked what was so memorable about it, Agassi reeled this off:

“I beat him 7-6, 7-6, lost 7-6 in the third after serving for the match at 6-5, 30-15, had a long point. I came in to his backhand. He hit a chip ball short cross-court. I hit a drop volley that he never should have got to. He got there. He threw up a lob. I jump up. It just clears my racket. I chase it down. It lands on the line. I throw up a lob.

“We have another long point after that and then he ends up winning it. He ends up breaking my serve and beating me 7-6, beating me 6-3. Then we come back the next day because it was like 1 o’clock in the morning. I break him to serve 4-3 in the fifth and he ends up breaking, holding, and then playing a great game to break me for the match. So the match was 5 1/2 hours over the course of two days in a big Davis Cup environment. It was just incredible tennis.”

Agassi smiled, then added, “I have forgotten about the match, put it out of my mind.”

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Gigi Fernandez, a close friend of Conchita Martinez, was asked how she thought Martinez might fare in today’s semifinal against Monica Seles. Fernandez was candid about the moodiness of her pal.

“It is up to Conchita, really,” she said. “If Conchita plays well and has a good attitude, she can win. If she has an attitude like she did yesterday [against Brenda Schultz-McCarthy], she is going to get killed.”

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Meredith McGrath and Matt Lucena defeated Fernandez and Cyril Suk, 6-4, 6-4, to win the mixed doubles title. . . . Byron Black’s advance to the quarterfinals here gave him the best finish by a player from Zimbabwe, but not the best of a former USC player. Ten Trojans have reached the quarterfinals and five have won the title.