Agassi Wins 2nd U.S. Open

September 11, 1999 / 3:23 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Andre Agassi never lost his serve or his nerve, even when Todd Martin had him down, as he capped one of the greatest summers in tennis history by capturing his second U.S. Open.

Agassi came up with his most spectacular shots none better than a lunging return from off the court that broke Martin's serve and spirit in a dominating fifth set Sunday to win 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 6-2.

Agassi's fifth Grand Slam title ended a summer run that began with his surprising surge to the French Open championship and continued with his runner-up finish to Pete Sampras at Wimbledon. No man since Ivan Lendl in 1986 had gone to three straight Grand Slam finals in the same year.

No man had fought back to win the U.S. Open from a 2-1 deficit in sets since John Newcombe in 1973, but that's exactly what Agassi had to do against an inspired Martin playing one of the finest matches of his life.

"It was disappointing that somebody had to lose," Agassi said. "He played so well, I felt I was hanging by a thread for much of the match. He was executing in ways that were giving me all sorts of problems."

"When he aims for the lines, he doesn't miss. I had to make every point incredibly important. It was crucial that I take care of my service games because I knew I was not going to get many chances."

Martin always had all the tools of a champion the big serve, the sweet groundstrokes, the heart of a fighter and he almost became one at age 29 in the first five-set final at the Open in 11 years.

After losing his first service and the first set, Martin went toe-to-toe with Agassi for the next two sets, staying with him through long rallies and clubbing him with aces to force a pair of tiebreakers that he won with unexpected ease.

But Agassi, who guaranteed himself the No. 1 ranking after beating Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the semifinals, responded the way the best player in the world should.

Agassi bore down on Martin's serve early in the fourth set and broke him to change the tenor of the match. On one point in that game, Agassi almost knocked Martin out, literally, slamming an overhead from pointblank range that missed Martin's skull by inches.

Martin never recovered. Though he ran his ace total to 23 16 more than Agassi he never could find a way to break Agassi's serve. When Agassi broke him again at the end of the fourth set, the last point on a forehand return that clipped the net cord and hopped over to handcuff Martin, the outcome seemed certain.

"I don't remember any five setter that I didn't lose my serve," Agassi said.

Agassi made it five games in a row when he won the firt three in the final set, and he closed out the match by breaking Martin one more time.

"I'll tell you what, how can you ask for anything more than two Americans in the final of the U.S. Open playing a great five-set match?" Agassi told the crowd after accepting the trophy and the winner's check for $750,000.

"Win or lose, this is the greatest time of my life. I'll never forget New York right here."

Martin hardly looked like an unhappy loser. He knew he had given all he could in a tournament in which he had almost been taken in two previous five-setters, including one against a qualifier in the first round and another against No. 9 Greg Rusedski in the fourth round. After the match with Rusedski, Martin was so drained he needed to be rehydrated intravenously.

"Andre, you played great. You deserve it," Martin said. "I couldn't think of a better way to go out than to play a great match against a great champion."

The match was only the fifth all-American men's final at the U.S Open in the 32 years of the open era, and the matchup of two 29-year-olds was the oldest since 39-year-old Ken Rosewall lost to 22-year-old Jimmy Connors in 1974.

From Paris to New York, Agassi has sizzled this summer with 35 victories in 39 matches.

"I don't think until the middle of Paris that I let my shots fly in big situations," Agassi said. "It wasn't until after Paris that I developed that sense of focus and confidence."

Three of his losses came against Sampras, who had been seeded No. 1, but pulled out of the Open with a back injury the day before he was to play in the first round.

Todd Martin couldn't put Agassi away.

With Sampras gone, and two-time defending champion Patrick Rafter soon to follow with a shoulder injury, the top half of the draw was open for everyone. Martin seized the opportunity and survived his close matches to reach a Grand Slam final for the second time in his career. He had gone to the 1994 Australian Open final, where he lost to Sampras, and now he can say he lost to the other dominant player of the decade.

Agassi had hoped to play Sampras again to get a measure of revenge for his Wimbledon beating. Against Martin, he faced a player who was almost, but not quite, as tough.

When Agassi won the French, he joined Roy Emerson, Rod Laver, Don Budge and Fred Perry as the only men to win all four major tournaments in their career. Now, perhaps, with his seond U.S. Open, Agassi is on his way to a double career Grand Slam.