Andre Agassi continues to look like a champion at the U.S. Open tennis tournament at Flushing Meadow in New York. He's through to the third round, though was made to work hard by the little known Chilean, Nicolas Massu.
Such is Agassi's reputation that you hear his name mentioned more than anyone's as you walk among the crowds gathered outside the Arthur Ashe stadium. Agassi is still the man to see 15 years since he made his debut here. The long hair and highlights have been replaced by, well, no hair. He's 31, an elder statesman, but still in his pomp.
He's in the toughest part of the draw along with fellow former U.S. Open champions Pete Sampras and Pat Rafter, and has geared up well for the high-profile matches to come with a challenging battle against Massu who won a first set tiebreaker and some new fans before falling in four sets.
"You know, I feel a lot of support in so many places that it's easy for me to feel generous with the crowd kind of sharing that support with my opponent," Agassi says. "I prefer them to be into it more than I prefer it necessarily to be for me. There's no question it helps when they're pulling for you."
And the thousands will continue to pull for him against Paraguayan Ramon Delgado as Agassi aims for U.S. title number three.