Agassi Turns Win Into an Old Story

The 19-year-old was covered, head to toe, in red dirt and sweat and the crowd could hear him heaving breaths -- one, two, three of them -- before each point. And then there were the horrified howls that accompanied desperately tired forehands as they started plopping into the net.

The 33-year-old was almost pristine, even after all the time that had passed and he almost lost. He tapped his foot in eager anticipation and a little annoyance as the start of the 10th game of the fifth set of the second round of the French Open had to be delayed while a whooping, hollering crowd did the wave.

It is these moments, said 33-year-old Andre Agassi, of sublime emotion, of drenching tension, of grand testing of one’s nerves and stamina and desire, that make playing this game so necessary and so fun.

Fun, 19-year-old Mario Ancic agreed, only if the ending is different.

Agassi, the second-seeded player and the owner of eight Grand Slam titles, was down two sets and behind, 2-0, in the third set here Wednesday before rallying for a victory.

“A-gah-si, A-gah-si,” clap, clap clap, was the speech of the crowd when he was down. Or, “An-dray, An-dray,” clap, clap clap. But the noise seemed a feeble substitute for whatever Agassi was missing.

And then the exhortations worked. So did Agassi’s 17 years of pro experience. So did his love of Stade Roland Garros.

Agassi revels in what he calls his “journey” here, one which started when he made the semifinals in 1988 as an 18-year-old, which included two devastating losses in the finals -- to Andres Gomez and Jim Courier -- and which culminated in 1999 with his first French championship, a title which gave him at least one of each of the four Grand Slams.

There might still be another.

Agassi defeated Ancic, a lanky, long-limbed Croatian, 5-7, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2, 7-5, after being pummeled by his massive serves, silky volleys and treacherous drop shots for 2 1/2 sets. Ancic served and volleyed, he served and hit smashes, he grunted and huffed and puffed and threw his body everywhere.

At first, there was no hint of the drama to come.

Ancic raced to a 3-0 lead in the first set, but that happens with Agassi, who takes time to measure his opponent and get a feel for the conditions of the day.

By the 10th game, Agassi had gotten two service breaks of his own, was leading, 5-4, and was serving for the set. But Ancic was imperturbable. He hit a drop shot and then a forehand winner off Agassi’s weak reply. Agassi offered up a double fault and was down, 0-30. Agassi gave Ancic his first break point by whacking a smash wide, saved a break point with a nifty backhand drop shot, then gave Ancic the break with another nervous double fault.

From there, Ancic galloped. The teenager tried everything and everything worked. Agassi was never in the second set and it took about two minutes for Ancic to win the first two games of the third set. He broke Agassi, then held serve at love, and where was Agassi going to find enough power or guile when Ancic was touching the lines and serving aces?

“You have to dig deep and come up with the goods against guys that are out there competing against the best of us,” Agassi said.

Agassi broke back in the fourth game with a powerful forehand winner and broke Ancic again to win the third set on a fluttering lob that teased Ancic by dancing over his head. Ancic staggered backward, trying to swat at the ball. The crowd gasped in appreciation.

The fourth set was like the second, except it was owned by Agassi. By the time the fifth set arrived, Ancic was covered in clay, a Christmas cookie rolled in sprinkles. He was also not ready to give Agassi the match.

After leading, 5-2, Agassi got pushed around again. Ancic won three games in succession and broke Agassi when he was serving for the match at 5-3. In that ninth game, Agassi served three double faults and wasted two match points.

The crowd then stood and roared and waved. “I felt like they did that wave for 10 minutes,” Agassi said.

Ancic held serve when play resumed. Agassi did the same to lead, 6-5. At that point, Ancic had won 145 points in the match, Agassi 144. The final total would be 148-147 in favor of Agassi. Ancic was down, 0-40, on his serve and was gulping for air and grunting five times a point. Ancic saved one match point with an ace and another when Agassi hit an easy forehand return into the net. Finally, though, Ancic ran out of everything -- energy, air, miracles -- hitting a forehand into the net and falling to the ground.

In other matches, Vince Spadea sneaked into the third round; 1996 French champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov, 29, lost in five sets to Flavio Saretta and contemplated retirement; Attila Savolt of Hungary upset 27th-seeded Mikhail Youzhny; No. 24 James Blake lost two of three sets to Ivan Ljubicic before it got too dark to continue.

Five American women, led by top-seeded Serena Williams, advanced to the third round. Ashley Harkleroad, ranked No. 58, was among them. She knocked out ninth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova, and 11th-seeded Anastasia Myskina fell to Petra Mandula.

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French Open Glance

Highlights from Day 3 of the French Open on Wednesday:

*--* * Men’s Seeded Winners: No. 2 Andre Agassi, No. 4 Carlos Moya, No. 7 Guillermo Coria, No. 11 Rainer Schuettler * Men’s Seeded Losers: No. 17 Yevgeny Kafelnikov, No. 27 Mikhail Youzhny * Women’s Seeded Winners: No. 1 Serena Williams, No. 4 Justine Henin-Hardenne, No. 5 Amelie Mauresmo * Women’s Seeded Losers: No. 9 Daniela Hantuchova, No. 11 Anastasia Myskina, No. 21 Lisa Raymond, No. 23 Anna Pistolesi * Stat of the Day: 106 -- Unforced errors by Hantuchova in her loss to unseeded American teen Ashley Harkleroad

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No Surrender

Matches in Andre Agassi’s 17-year pro career in which he rallied to win after losing the first two sets:

*--* * Beat Jim Courier, 6-7 (7), 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, in 1996 Australian Open quarterfinals * Beat Jan Siemerink, 3-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3, in 1997 Davis Cup * Beat Andrei Medvedev, 1-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, in 1999 French Open final * Beat Paul-Henri Mathieu, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3, in 2002 French Open fourth round * Beat Mario Ancic, 5-7, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2, 7-5, in 2003 French Open second round

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