Slow start, fine finish in opener by Agassi
Roger Federer broke Bjorn Borg's record for consecutive wins on grass.
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- A homemade necklace proclaiming "Daddy Rocks" has replaced the thick gold chain and dangling earring Andre Agassi sported when he won Wimbledon in 1992. A shaved head glistens where tresses once flowed underneath a sponsor-touting ballcap.
And when Agassi stepped out Tuesday for the first match of his final Wimbledon, he lingered a moment, taking in the raucous standing ovation.
All the applause and whistles and hoots of good will got to him, so much so that Agassi played an awful opening set before righting his racket and beating 71st-ranked Boris Pashanski of Serbia 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3.
"To feel that sort of support -- it just meant the world to me. I just wanted to do 'em proud," Agassi said. "So I got a little nervous about trying too hard early, overhit a lot. Took me awhile to settle down."
Long a crowd favorite, he's drawing extra interest and adulation this fortnight. He missed Wimbledon the past two years with injuries, and, more significantly, he announced Saturday he'll retire after the U.S. Open.
That made Agassi the focal point at the A2ll England Club on a day filled with all manner of matches thanks to rain Monday that permitted only about 30 minutes of play. With bits of blue sky peering out between the clouds on Day 2, fans wandered the grounds to sneak peeks at star players everywhere.
3-time champ Federer rolls
Among the winners were three-time defending champion Roger Federer, 1997 champion Martina Hingis, and Grand Slam champions Rafael Nadal, Marat Safin, Justine Henin-Hardenne and Kim Clijsters.
Federer completed a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Richard Gasquet for his 42nd win in a row on grass, breaking Bjorn Borg's record set in 1976-81.
"It's nice, isn't it?" said Federer, who next faces four-time semifinalist and local favorite Tim Henman. "To get any streak is obviously nice. I'm still going, so even better."
Federer worked only 37 minutes Tuesday; he led 6-3, 1-2 when action was suspended Monday. Hingis, who won Wimbledon at age 16 in 1997, also took a one-set lead into Tuesday, and she polished off Olga Savchuk of Ukraine 6-2, 6-2. Hingis hadn't played at Wimbledon since 2001; she was off the tour for three years because of assorted foot and ankle injuries before coming back full time in January.
Other past major champions who won Tuesday included Svetlana Kuznetsova and Juan Carlos Ferrero, while No. 8-seeded James Blake of the United States fended off qualifier Kristian Pless' rally to win 6-3, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4.
One past major champion exited: 2002 Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson, a Wimbledon semifinalist a year ago and seeded 12th this time, lost to fellow Swede Jonas Bjorkman. Other seeded losers: No. 20 Dominik Hrbaty, No. 21 Gael Monfils, No. 29 Paradorn Srichaphan, No. 31 Nicolas Massu, and No. 32 Paul-Henri Mathieu, who went down to 2003 Wimbledon finalist Mark Philippoussis and his 39 aces.
And there was even a B. Becker of Germany on the schedule. Not three-time Wimbledon champion Boris, mind you, but 161st-ranked qualifier Benjamin Becker (no relation), who beat Juan Ignacio Chela in four sets.
Two women showed finesse can still win on Tuesday.
After 5 years Hingis returns
Hingis, completing her first match at Wimbledon in five years following a long injury layoff and an overnight rain delay, beat the bigger, stronger but less experienced Savchuk.
Hingis hit drop shots, deft lobs and tricky groundstrokes that rarely took a true bounce, negating Savchuk's power game.
"I had to do something, especially on grass," Hingis said. "You have to try to have a lot of variety in your shots. If you don't give the opponent the same shot twice, it definitely helps because the bounces are already so hard to get ready for."
Henin-Hardenne won much the same way, beating Yuan Meng 6-0, 6-1. In this era of big hitters, the slender French Open champion is proud to be a stylistic throwback.
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