There was something immediately schizophrenic about this year’s U.S. Open, as if the tournament itself was torn between the past, present, and future of the game. Adding to the Open’s inner turmoil during the first week and a half were spates of wild weather that led to extended washouts of play, almost in an every-other-day pattern designed to stall the overall momentum of the year’s final major championship.
Between raindrops, much of the early focus was on tennis legend Andre Agassi as he played the final competitive event of his storybook career. Agassi whipped the New York crowd into frenzy during his first two matches, overcoming a feisty Andrei Pavel on opening night before defying time in a dramatic second-round upset of eighth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, the latter of which was the best match of the tournament.
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