U.S. OPEN Top-seeded Agassi overcomes early close call for 3-set triumph

Unseeded Mary Pierce knocked out No. 22 Jelena Dokic.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Andre Agassi ran into someone who could match him sizzling stroke for sizzling stroke, a no-name who picked this particular night to perform at the top of his game.
It lasted for a set.
As Agassi always does, the world No. 1 and oldest top-seeded male in the Open era gradually wore down Andreas Vinciguerra, beating the hard-hitting Swede 7-6 (1), 6-1, 6-4 Thursday night to reach the third round of the U.S. Open.
"Tonight was a difficult match because we'd never played each other before and it takes a while to settle down," Agassi said. "Once I settled down, I started hitting my shots a lot cleaner and felt good about it."
The 50-minute first set clearly had Agassi concerned. It showed on his face each time Vinciguerra laced a line with a pretty passing shot or boomed a big serve by him. Vinciguerra played near-perfect tennis, but Agassi dominated the tie-breaker, giving up just a single point.
And all of a sudden, the momentum was his.
The 33-year-old Agassi had to battle through seven deuces to break Vinciguerra in the seventh game of the third set, and both players received a standing ovation when they changed over in a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Yet the chants of "Andre! Andre!" far outnumbered those for "Andreas! Andreas!" on this night.
It was the first meeting between Agassi and the 22-year-old lefty who is ranked 92nd in the world and has just one singles title to his name. Vinciguerra didn't play any hard-court tuneup events leading up to the Open.
Agassi's win was just a highlight of the tournament's fourth day, which produced some of the most highly contested and entertaining tennis yet.
Women
Unseeded Mary Pierce rallied from a 5-1 third-set deficit to beat No. 22 Jelena Dokic 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5). Pierce, a two-time major winner, won a tie-breaker for the first time in six tries this year.
"I just tried to stay calm and just told myself to fight. Just kept repeating that one word to myself," Pierce said. "You never know what can happen in tennis."
American Todd Martin found that out, winning a thriller over French Open runner-up and 16th-seeded Martin Verkerk, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (9) in 3 hours, 3 minutes. Martin, 33 and ranked 93rd, trailed 5-2 in the fourth-set tie-breaker.
"I was starting to think about a fifth-set tie-break, but I knew I had my chances," Martin said. "I felt like I could win the match and I felt, without being presumptuous, I felt like I would win the match."
Capriati cruises
Jennifer Capriati, who recently ended her 11/2-year drought without a title, overpowered Martina Sucha 6-1, 6-1. The only games Capriati lost were on her own serve, when she helped out her opponent by double-faulting five times.
"I miss being at the top and playing good tennis," said Capriati, who won a tuneup event last week, her first title since the 2002 Australian Open.
Sixth-seeded Lleyton Hewitt rebounded after losing the first set to defeat South Korean baseliner Lee Hyung-taik 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4.
Also advancing to the third round in men's singles were French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero, who beat Jurgen Melzer 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-4; No. 28 Yevgeny Kafelnikov, a four-set winner over Kenneth Carlsen; and Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan, the 11th-seeded player and a fan favorite, who defeated Dominik Hrbaty 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 to resounding cheers from his animated countrymen.
Martina Navratilova, 46, received quite the welcome before teaming with Svetlana Kuznetsova to beat Jill Craybas and Conchita Martinez Granados 7-5, 6-2 in first-round women's doubles action. When they entered the court, Navratilova received a standing ovation from the near capacity crowd. She smiled, waved, then bowed.