Results tagged “andreagassi”

With all that went down this week, we thought we thought we'd cheer everyone up by giving everyone a double dose of dogs.

In keeping with our lists of events from 2006, here are some of the sports stories that Gothamist found compelling in the past year. It ranges from the playoff disappointment from the Mets and the Yankees to the welcome performances of last season's Rangers, this season's Jets and Rutgers.

With the US Open heading to its climactic weekend, there have been some fun articles about the ball boys and girls at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Take the NY Times' US Open blog post about "Ballbabes": Male spectators seem to love some of the ladies wearing the Ralph Lauren designed outfits (sleeveless and short, while the ball boys get less revealing polo shirts and shorts) and boo when their favorites get rotated off the court. The Staten Island Advance chatted wtih four Island ball boys and girls, including Ronald Butts who has been a ball person for 18 years:

The New Brighton resident was working behind the baseline at the nationally televised 1996 men's single quarterfinal between Alex Corretja and a flu-ridden Pete Sampras.

Continue reading "By the Balls"

With the U.S. Open behind thanks to two days of rain, plenty of tennis was played on Sunday in Flushing. Andre Agassi's final match, a loss to qualifier Benjamin Becker, drew most of the headlines, but Andy Roddick's resurgence also deserves some attention. He won his third-round match over Fernando Verdasco and will play Becker -- not Agassi -- in the fourth round. Jimmy Connors may have helped the 2003 champion, but only time, and tougher matches, will tell.

Andre Agassi's career has officially ended. After a four set loss at the hands of a familiar tennis foe. Agassi lost 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 5-7 to German qualifier Benjamin Becker (no relation to Boris). Over his 21-year career, Agassi played 1144 matches, won 60 titles, and played in 21 consecutive US Opens. The 36 year-old Agassi is a two-time US Open Champion in 1994 and 1999 and a four-time runner-up. The crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium showered Agassi with applause after the match, cheering for the visibly emotional Agassi for several minutes.

- Mets 4, Astros 2: We always thought that Philadelphia fans had the reputation for being the nastiest fans in the sports, but maybe not. Last night, former Astro and current Mets MVP candidate, Carlos Beltran made a game saving catch with two runners on base in the 9th inning and hurt his knee on the fence in the process. While being helped off the field, an audible group of Astros fans were actually booing Beltran. The injury was diagnosed as a bruised knee. John Maine won for the 5th straight time as the Mets reduced their magic number was reduced to 12.

He's only won two matches, but Andre Agassi has already made his final U.S. Open memorable. Thursday's win over Marcos Baghdatis, the No. 8 player in the world, came after a tortuous match. After leading by two sets, Agassi dropped the third, but he rebounded to take a 4-0 lead in the fourth set. Baghdatis rallied to take that set and an early break in the fifth, but Agassi broke right back, and neither player lost his serve until Agassi broke Baghdatis to win 7-5. He'll next face Benjamin Becker, a qualifier, so a fourth-round match against Andy Roddick could be in the offing. No matter what fans thought of Agassi's earlier career, which included immaturity and a lack of success against some of the game's biggest stars (Pete Sampras), few should be in a rush to see Agassi leave.

When he announced he would retire after the U.S. Open, Andre Agassi made himself the story until he is eliminated. That almost came sooner than fans -- or CBS and USA -- wanted. Agassi survived three tiebreaks and beat Andrei Pavel in four sets to advance to a second-round match against Marcos Baghdatis on Thursday. The 36-year-old could have given up when, after splitting the first two sets on tiebreakers, he fell behind 4-0 in the third set. But Agassi rallied, much to the delight of the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd, which was about as one-sided as can be imagined.

-U.S. Open draws relaesed: The U.S. Open doesn't start until Aug. 28, but Andre Agassi got some bad news with the release of the draw today. As an unseeded player, Agassi is unprotected, and if he and Marcos Baghdatis in their first round matches, they'll meet in the second round. With Agassi limping through the summer season and an arduous draw, his good-bye party might not last long at the Open, and the tournament will suffer.

The match highlights the unique stage that is a US Open night match. Rowdy New York fans cheer faults, boo line calls and do the wave to show their appreciation. With two Americans on court last night, the crowd held little back. Even tennis purists had to admit the atmosphere added something to the match that, until the fifth set, was carried by its drama instead of its shotmaking. Agassi advances to an all-US semifinal on Saturday against Robby Ginepry, and the thought of his playing Roger Federer (who plays in the quarterfinals today) in the final on Sunday has CBS executives salivating.

In this era of tennis that does not see American men or women dominate the sport, the United States Open has struggled to maintain its appeal to American sports fans. The casual observer, whose fandom has made the US Open's popularity soar, has paid attention n the past because Americans have been winning. They don't appreciate the genius of Roger Federer or the deceiving power of Justine Henin-Hardenne. No longer can the USTA rely on the likes of the now-retired Pete Sampras and the aging Andre Agassi to make a run at the Open title each year to keep these fans attached.

Williams was serving at deuce in the first game of the third set when her backhand passing shot was incorrectly called out by the chair umpire. Capriati took advantage, going on to win the game and eventually, the match.

The 2004 US Open kicked off with a bang last night, as evidenced by Serena William’s latest attire. Williams, never one to shy away from spectacle, dispatched Sandra Kleinova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-3 in a just 53 minutes.

The 108th edition of Wimbledon got off to a rousing start today as nine time champion and 47 year old Martina Navratilova won her opening round match against Colombia's Catalina Castano 6-0, 6-1. The match, which lasted a mere 46 minutes, was Navratilova's first singles win in 10 years. It was only Castano's second match ever at The All England Club. "It's almost like playing my mom," said Castano, whose mother is 50. Navratilova will next face Gisela Dulko who she lost to in the opening round of the French Open a few weeks ago.

On Monday Wheaties announced that Andre Agassi would be gracing a special edition of the cereal box to coincide with the start of the French Open. Agassi then went out and suffered one of the most surprising and unexpected losses in the Open era, ranking with Pete Sampras' loss to George Bastl at Wimbledon in 2002, and Lleyton Hewitt's loss to Ivo Karlovic there a year ago. Jerome Haehnel, a 23 year old qualifier from France, ranked 271st in the world, shocked the 1999 French Open champ 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

The 2004 French Open gets underway at Roland Garros today. The pre tourney buzz is, as usual, all on the women’s side of the field.