Old Style Still Works for Agassi

MELBOURNE, Australia — Fifty-one aces and 45 other winners went flying through the air past Andre Agassi at Melbourne Park.

Still, the eighth-seeded Agassi managed to keep his head and his drive alive for a fifth Australian Open title, surviving a record serving performance by No. 11 Joachim Johansson of Sweden to win, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3), 6-4, in 2 hours 38 minutes. Agassi, 34, called upon his years of experience and guile to survive today in the fourth round.

Even for Agassi, who has seen nearly everything, it was an unusual match. He had zero unforced errors in the first set but still lost it. And Johansson, 22, was a deeply confusing opponent, playing hit-and-miss tennis, rarely letting Agassi find his groove in a rally.

“It was a tough day,” Agassi said, smiling at the understatement. “I reacted and pushed myself and I felt good. I was anxious the whole time.... It’s tough to sort of find your rhythm when he’s not giving it to you.”

It was a wild ride: Johansson had 96 winners (including the aces) and 66 unforced errors. And to think the young Swede was tired, coming off a 3-hour 58-minute match against Feliciano Lopez of Spain, which he won, 13-11, in the fifth set.

“His forehand is as large a forehand as you’ll ever see,” Agassi said. “And it’s hard. It has rotation on it. It looks like he’s never going to miss it when he winds up to hit it.”

Then there’s the Johansson serve. Officials announced that his 51 aces were a record for a singles match at a Grand Slam, surpassing the 49 Richard Krajicek served in a quarterfinal loss at the U.S. Open in 1999.

“It’s not fun,” Agassi said. “It’s very uncomfortable. You just have to admire it while you’re out there because there’s just not a whole lot you can do when destiny is in somebody’s hands that extremely. He tosses the ball and he hits it where he wants, point’s not in play, it’s over.

“There was a good 25 times out there where I felt like I knew where it was going, was leaning that way, and if I jumped and threw my racquet, I probably wouldn’t touch it. That doesn’t count all the other times where I was actually wrong about where he was serving.”

And Agassi’s reward? A quarterfinal match against defending champion Roger Federer of Switzerland.

Agassi joked about it during his on-court TV interview afterward, saying: “Who’s Roger?”

Though he has not lost a set here in four matches and is on a 25-match winning streak, Federer seemed to take offense when asked whether his level was good enough to beat someone like Agassi.

“I don’t know why you ask me a question like this,” said Federer, who has not lost since the second round at the Olympics last year to Tomas Berdych. “I think I’ve proven myself in the past, and I know my game’s good enough. Also on my day where I’m not playing perfect I know I can beat him.

“He’s not as good as he was when he was at the top of the rankings, otherwise he would be there. Fortunately, I’m there.”

These were practically fighting words from the mild Federer.

“I think he has to raise his game, not me,” he said.

The defending champion and No. 1 seed beat qualifier and former Australian Open junior champion Marcos Baghdatis, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (4), in 1 hour 43 minutes. Federer had 36 winners, nine aces and did not double fault, though his serve was broken once, in the first set.

The three completed fourth-round women’s matches featured no surprises, though No. 4 Maria Sharapova of Russia was pushed to three sets. No. 2 Amelie Mauresmo of France defeated Evgenia Linetskaya of Russia, 6-2, 6-4, and No. 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Vera Douchevina, 6-4, 6-2, in an all-Russian matchup.

Sharapova dropped her second set in four matches but still defeated Silvia Farina Elia of Italy, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. In a later match, former Australian Open champion and No. 7-seeded Serena Williams faced No. 11 Nadia Petrova of Russia.