By Bill Barclay
NEW YORK, Sept 10 - The longed-for showdown
between Roger Federer, the world number one, and Andre Agassi,
the old stager playing possibly for the last time at Flushing
Meadows, will come to pass on Sunday in the U.S. Open men's
singles final.
Semi-final opponents Robby Ginepri and Lleyton Hewitt did
their best to thwart them on Super Saturday but, as suspected,
their fate was to play no more than supporting roles in a much
bigger drama.
At 35, Agassi became the oldest man to reach a grand slam
final since Australian Ken Rosewall in 1974 when he outlasted
unseeded U.S. compatriot Ginepri 6-4 5-7 6-3 4-6 6-3.
Sunday will be the 1994 and 1999 champion's sixth U.S. Open
final and his first grand slam final since he won the last of
his eight grand slams at the 2003 Australian Open.
"I'm in the finals, it's awesome," said Agassi after
treating an enraptured Arthur Ashe Court crowd to an impromptu
little victory jig.
Defending champion and top seed Federer was extended for
three hours by third seed Hewitt but still stretched his run of
consecutive victories over the Australian to nine by winning
their semi-final 6-3 7-6 4-6 6-3.
"It was a difficult match," said the triple Wimbledon
champion, whose victory meant he matched Pete Sampras's
professional era record of 34 consecutive hardcourt wins.
"Today I definitely had to survive more tough moments than
in the past against him. But what better final could I wish for?
An American in a U.S. Open final."
Played on the day the host nation marks the fourth
anniversary of the September 11 attacks on New York, Sunday's
final promises to be an occasion of high emotion.
A sense of destiny has accompanied seventh seed Agassi
through the tournament ever since 2003 champion Andy Roddick was
removed from his half of the draw in the first round, quickly
followed by Spanish second seed Rafael Nadal.
It was confirmed with his classic five-set quarter-final win
over another compatriot, James Blake, when Agassi won a
breathless tiebreak decider having recovered from two sets and a
break down.
On Saturday the first four sets against Ginepri were
relatively ordinary but in the fifth Agassi lifted his game to a
level too high for his 22-year-opponent, who was playing his
first grand slam semi-final.
The deftest of drop shots secured the decisive break for 4-2
and Agassi then reeled off a barrage of aces, the last of which
sealed an ultimately convincing victory.
In his 20th U.S. Open, it marked the first time Agassi has
won three successive five-setters at a grand slam, some feat for
a player who is showing no sign of the chronic back problem that
has prompted talk of his retirement this year.
"Going into the fifth you never know, it might have been the
last set I ever play at the U.S. Open," he said.
"You never know when it's going to be your last match, and
you just want to give it your all. We're down to the home
stretch. I'll be out here tomorrow and let it all hang out."
SICK HEWITT
In a tournament laden with five-set thrillers, six of the
last seven contests in the bottom half of the draw have gone the
full distance.
Federer, as usual, has stood serene amid the mayhem,
dropping only two sets en route to the final.
Hewitt is heartily sick of the Swiss, having been thrashed
in last year's final by him and knocked out of Wimbledon this
year and last by the world number one.
The Australian, who won his first grand slam title at
Flushing Meadows in 2001, played outstanding tennis to earn five
sets points in the second set but Federer saved them all. Then,
almost cruelly, the Swiss humiliated the Australian 7-0 in the
tiebreak with one stupendous winner after another.
Hewitt would not give in, though, and took the third set
after breaking for 4-3 with a well-placed lob. It ended his run
of losing 17 consecutive sets against Federer.
The 24-year-old Swiss quickly dismissed any thought of an
upset, breaking to love for 4-2 in the fourth set and completing
his victory on serve.
Federer has won the last seven of his 10 previous meetings
with Agassi, including their quarter-finals at this year's
Australian Open and last year at Flushing Meadows, when the
Swiss won in five sets. Incredibly, he has also won his last 22
finals.
Logic, form and statistics suggest the younger man will
prevail again on Sunday. Those of a romantic bent, however, will
hope for a different outcome.