After Day of Rain, Agassi, Federer Interrupted as Well

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun
NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

The rain that soaked New York yesterday had taken a three-hour respite. Andre Agassi was about to serve a crucial deuce point in the first game of the fourth set, trailing two sets to one against Roger Federer. Then, the skies opened up again.


The fans, who had slowly filled the first and second levels of Arthur Ashe Stadium for what was turning out to be a fantastic match, scurried for cover. Open officials twice rolled out their new lawnmower-like court driers, but play was finally suspended after an hour and 20 minutes.


If would have been luckier for Agassi, perhaps, if it had rained a few minutes sooner. A mist began to gather as Federer served, down 5-4 in the third set. He held that game after a deuce, and then broke Agassi the next game. Agassi fired his second double fault at 30-all to give Federer an opening. After a rally in which Federer pressured Agassi along the baseline with his forehand, Agassi clipped the tape on a backhand up the line. He didn’t get any luck there, either.


Before the match, Agassi talked about playing with “controlled aggression,” and for the most part, he struck a good balance between stretching Federer wide off the court and yet not going for too much.


Agassi kept the ball to Federer’s backhand through most rallies, and hit sharp forehands for winners 14 times. Twice at 40-0 he mixed in serve and volley attempts, and he won them both. He also outdid Federer at the net, winning 12 of 13 tries while Federer, befuddled by his backhand volley, lost nine of 16 points from close range. In total points, Agassi led 92 to 86, yet trailed.


Essentially, Agassi had served two poor games in an otherwise meticulous performance.


In the first set, behind 3-2, he double-faulted to love-30. The next point, he took a deep spinning return from Federer on the rise, but struck it into the net. Agassi managed to climb back to 30-40, then missed a forehand just wide up the line to lose the game. He broke Federer twice in the second set, including on the last game.


There was a crucial moment early in the fourth set, with Agassi leading 1-0. He got off to a love-30 start on Federer’s serve and had a forehand cross-court winner lined up for love-40, but pulled it wide. Though Agassi earned two break points in the game, Federer wiped one away with a 127 mph ace and, on the other, forced an Agassi error with a blistering forehand.


In the evening’s other men’s quarterfinal delayed by rain, Tim Henman led Dominik Hrbaty 6-1, 7-5, 4-5, on serve in the third set. Organizers hope both matches can be completed today.

NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.


The New York Sun

© 2025 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

or
By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use