Agassi will open against Pavel in final U.S. Open

Aug 23, 2006, 20:07 GMT

New York, NY - When the 2006 U.S. Open gets underway next week, top seeds Roger Federer and Amelie Mauresmo appear to have easy openers, while Andre Agassi, playing in his final ATP event, will start his 21st U.S. Open against capable Romanian Andrei Pavel.

A potential second-round opponent for the iconic Agassi could be eighth-seeded Australian Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis, who also soared as high as the semifinals at Wimbledon last month.

Agassi's possible fourth-round opponent could be his fellow Andy Roddick, while a trip to the quarterfinals could put him across the net from 2001 champion Lleyton Hewitt or third-seeded Croat Ivan Ljubicic.

The 36-year-old Agassi, last year's U.S. Open runner-up to Federer, is a two- time champion here and has been the runner-up four times. The eight-time Grand Slam champ captured his Open titles in 1994 and 1999 and was the runner-up in Flushing in 1990, 1995, 2002 and last season.

Agassi is a career 77-18 in his previous 20 trips to the Open, where he's played every year since 1986. Only his fellow great Jimmy Connors (98-17) has tallied more U.S. Open match victories in the Open Era.

The legendary former world No. 1 Agassi has been slowed by back problems over the last two seasons and announced earlier this summer that the 2006 U.S. Open would mark his final tournament on the circuit.

The world No. 1 Federer, meanwhile, will open against Taipei's Yeu-Tzuoo Wang, while the top-ranked Mauresmo will be opposed by a qualifier. Federer is the reigning two-time U.S. Open champ, as well as the reigning four-time Wimbledon titlist and the reigning Australian Open champ. Mauresmo was this year's Wimbledon and Aussie Open titlist among the women.

Federer, like Agassi, owns eight career Grand Slam titles and will try to become the first man since Ivan Lendl (1985-87) to win three straight U.S. Opens. The only other male to corral three straight championships at Flushing Meadows was John McEnroe from 1979-81.

The amazing Federer could meet fifth-seeded American James Blake in the quarters, while fourth-seeded Argentine David Nalbandian could loom in the semis.

In the bottom half of the men's draw, second-seeded French Open champ Rafael Nadal will face 1998 U.S. Open runner-up Mark Philippoussis in his opener. The 20-year-old Nadal beat Federer in the French Open final, but lost to the super Swiss in the Wimbledon finale. The two superstars could only meet in the final at the U.S. Open.

Nadal appears to have a decent road to the semis, where he could eventually meet Agassi, the ninth-seeded 2003 champion Roddick or Ljubicic. The former world No. 1 Roddick is fresh off his title at the Masters Series event in Cincinnati.

Back on the women's side, Mauresmo could tangle with unseeded Serena Williams in the fourth round, while a potential quarterfinal opponent could be eighth- seeded Martina Hingis. Whoever comes out of that section of the draw could face third-seeded Russian Maria Sharapova in the final four.

Serena was the 1999 and 2002 U.S. Open champ and the 2001 runner-up to her big sister Venus.

The bottom half of the women's draw features second-seeded 2003 U.S. Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne, fourth-seeded 2004 runner-up Elena Dementieva, sixth-seeded '04 champ Svetlana Kuznetsova, 10th-seeded 1998 winner Lindsay Davenport and a 30th-seeded Venus, a two-time titlist in New York. Needless to say, this half of the bracket is loaded with stars.

Henin-Hardenne beat Kuznetsova in this year's French Open final and gave way to Mauresmo in the Wimbledon and Aussie Open title bouts.

Last year's U.S. Open women's champion Kim Clijsters will not be on hand to defend her title, as she is sidelined for the next several weeks with a wrist injury. The Belgian beat France's Mary Pierce in last year's finale at Ashe Stadium.

The '06 U.S. Open will commence Monday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The men's draw will feature five former champions (Federer, Roddick, Hewitt, Marat Safin and Agassi), while the women will have six former champs on hand (Kuznetsova, Henin-Hardenne, Serena, Venus, Davenport and Hingis).

© 2006 The Sports Network