Big Day, Big Wins for U.S. at Open

Was this a make-up day for the recent woes of U.S. tennis?

It couldn’t have been designed any better than if it had come out of a five-point plan hatched by the U.S. Tennis Assn. Monday featured good weather, great tennis and even better storylines.

Under most circumstances, 35-year-old Andre Agassi’s winning a five-set match against Xavier Malisse of Belgium to reach the quarterfinals would qualify as the headliner at the U.S. Open. Instead, it almost seemed like the first course, leading into wild card James Blake’s dramatic comeback against Tommy Robredo of Spain.

Now the man unable to play the U.S. Open last year because of temporary paralysis of part of his face and blurred vision (Blake) will be facing the icon trying to add an appropriate punctuation to a legendary career (Agassi). This will be Blake’s first Grand Slam quarterfinal.

Seventh-seeded Agassi defeated Malisse, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 4-6, 6-2, in nearly three hours. Malisse, who served 26 aces, had been two points from losing in straight sets in the tiebreaker. Blake’s fourth-round journey was different; he survived a one-set deficit and a service break in the second, winning, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-3, in 2 hours 23 minutes.

On top of that, the day started with an overwhelming performance from second-seeded Lindsay Davenport of Laguna Beach, who defeated No. 15 Nathalie Dechy of France, 6-0, 6-3, in 57 minutes in the fourth round. She won the first set in 19 minutes and said it was her best match since Wimbledon, and maybe it had something to do with the presence of her father, Wink.

“We were talking a few weeks ago and I said, ‘I think it’s kind of weird you’ve never been to one,’ ” Davenport said of the Grand Slams. “And he said, ‘OK.’ ”

Davenport will next play No. 6 Elena Dementieva of Russia, who beat No. 11 Patty Schnyder of Switzerland, 6-4, 6-3. In other women’s fourth-round matches, No. 3 Amelie Mauresmo of France defeated Elena Likhovtseva of Russia, 6-1, 6-4, and No. 12 Mary Pierce of France avenged her French Open final loss to Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium, winning 6-3, 6-4.

Pierce won the first five games and kept up a relentless pace. Henin-Hardenne appeared to be bothered by a hamstring and struggled with her serve, double faulting 10 times.

The Americans went 4-0 in Arthur Ashe Stadium, finishing with Robby Ginepri’s 6-3, 3-6, 6-7 (8), 6-4, 6-0 victory over No. 13 Richard Gasquet of France. In the quarterfinals, Ginepri will face No. 8 Guillermo Coria of Argentina, who survived a heated encounter against Nicolas Massu of Chile, winning 6-4, 2-6, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-2.

At 4 hours 32 minutes, it was the longest match of this Open. They exchanged words on a changeover early in the fifth set, and just when the matter appeared on the verge of escalating, a supervisor stood between their chairs.

Coria survived 20 double faults, in part offset by Massu’s 80 unforced errors. He celebrated the win by dropping to a knee and pointing a finger in the air, a la Chilean soccer star Marcelo Salas, who played for the Argentine club team River Plate.

Bad blood won’t be a problem when Agassi and Blake meet. They have mutual respect for many reasons.

“He’s been through this so many times -- 35 years old, his 20th Open. I don’t feel like he’s going to be nervous,” Blake said. “I don’t think I’ll be nervous either because I know I’ve got nothing to lose.”

Agassi said his back did not bother him during the nearly three-hour match. And he survived the disappointment of the near-miss in the third set and “discouragement” of the fourth set.

“Two points from the match, there’s still a person standing in the way there,” Agassi said. “It’s not like in basketball where you run out the clock and somebody throws up a half-court shot that happens to go in and rips your heart out.”

The Agassi-Blake matchup will be an interesting quandary for the fans. There is the notion of Agassi moving toward his first U.S. Open title since 1999. Then there is Blake’s comeback after illness, injury and the death of his father last year.

“He’s always been a dangerous player,” Agassi said. “You never know when somebody comes of age or game.”

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At a glance

Highlights from Monday at the U.S. Open:

* Men’s fourth-round winners: No. 7 Andre Agassi, No. 8 Guillermo Coria, James Blake and Robby Ginepri.

* Men’s fourth-round losers: No. 13 Richard Gasquet, No. 19 Tommy Robredo, Xavier Malisse and Nicolas Massu.

* Women’s fourth-round winners: No. 2 Lindsay Davenport, No. 3 Amelie Mauresmo and No. 6 Elena Dementieva.

* Women’s fourth-round losers: No. 11 Patty Schnyder, No. 15 Nathalie Dechy and No. 19 Elena Likhovtseva.

FEATURED MATCHES

* Day session: Lleyton Hewitt (3), Australia, vs. Dominik Hrbaty (15), Czech Republic; Roger Federer (1), Switzerland, vs. Nicolas Kiefer, Germany.

* Evening session: Maria Sharapova (1), Russia, vs. Nadia Petrova (9), Russia; Kim Clijsters (4), Belgium, vs. Venus Williams (10).