Andre Agassi knows it’s possible to do well as an unseeded player at the US Open. He won the 1994 title that way, after all — the tournament’s only unseeded champion in the Open era.
Still, being thrown into the draw without any sort of protection from facing top players too early can make things tough, as Agassi found out Wednesday.
His path at his last Open — indeed, his last pro tournament of any sort — looks difficult, including possible matchups against rising star Marcos Baghdatis in the second round and former No. 1 Andy Roddick in the fourth.
“Baghdatis has come a long way this year. He’s usually a tougher guy to beat in a longer match,” said four-time US Open champion John McEnroe, who’ll call the tournament for CBS and USA Network. “Some of it’s obviously going to be what the physical condition of Andre is.”
The 36-year-old Agassi, an eight-time Grand Slam champion, has been hampered by a bad back in 2006 and is only 8-7, failing to get past the quarterfinals at any tournament. He withdrew from two events this month, and his ranking has fallen to No. 37, which is why he’s unseeded a year after reaching the final.
Agassi starts off against Andrei Pavel of Romania, a former top-20 player currently ranked 76th. Agassi owns a 5-1 career edge against him. If Agassi makes that 6-1, he could face the eighth-seeded Baghdatis, a 21-year-old from Cyprus who was the runner-up at this year’s Australian Open and a semifinalist at Wimbledon.
“If Baghdatis is on and healthy and fit,” said US Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe, John’s brother. “I think that’s a very tough match for Andre to win right now.”
Two rounds later might bring another intergenerational clash — against Roddick, who’ll turn 24 next week, was the 2003 US Open champion and is seeded ninth. Roddick’s been working with Jimmy Connors, and the partnership paid off with a title at the Cincinnati Masters last week.
“It’s a great thing for both of them, potentially,” John McEnroe said. “Andy’s been struggling with confidence.”
Another past US. Open champion and No. 1 player who’s unseeded this year, Serena Williams, was given a tough draw, too. She fell out of the top 100 while sidelined with a left knee injury and needed a wild card to enter the tournament.
Her possible second-round opponent is No. 17 Daniela Hantuchova, who knocked off Williams in the Australian Open’s third round in January. If Williams reaches the third round, she could face No. 16 Ana Ivanovic, who won last week’s Open tuneup at Montreal and leads the US Open Series standings.
And should Williams get to the fourth round, her opponent could be No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo, the reigning Wimbledon and Australian Open champion.
“That was the big question mark: Where was Serena going to be in the draw?” said former pro and current TV analyst Mary Joe Fernandez.
Williams’ older sister Venus, the 2000-01 US Open winner, wound up on the opposite half of the draw as the No. 30 seed and appears to be in a relatively easy quarter. Bothered by a bad wrist, she hasn’t played since being upset in the third round while trying to defend her Wimbledon title.
“We haven’t seen Venus at all,” Fernandez said. “But we know Venus can turn it on at any given time, like she did last year at Wimbledon.”