Andre Agassi needed another injection Friday to deal with back pain so intense he couldn't even ride in a car to the hospital.

He didn't practice at all the day ahead of his scheduled third-round match at the U.S. Open against German qualifier Benjamin Becker. The Open is the last tournament of eight-time major champion Agassi's pro career.

Agassi was examined by the U.S. Open's chief medical officer, Brian Hainline, after his theatrical five-set, three-hour, 48-minute second-round victory over eighth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis, a match that stretched from Thursday night into Friday.

``After the match last night, Andre's back was stiffening up. Pretty excruciating,'' his trainer, Gil Reyes, said in a telephone interview. ``The inflammation was causing tremendous pain and an obvious lack of mobility.''

A hobbling Agassi appeared to have trouble swatting autographed balls into the stands afterward and shifted in his chair as he tried to find a comfortable position during the postmatch news conference. Reyes said the 36-year-old Agassi needed to lie on the ground outside the players' lounge in Arthur Ashe Stadium while waiting to be driven to his hotel.

On Tuesday, after his 3{-hour first-round match, Agassi went to a hospital for a cortisone shot. There are limits to what are considered safe doses and frequency of cortisone shots, which is why Agassi was given a different, anti-inflammatory medicine Friday at his hotel by a tournament doctor.

Agassi has had eight to 10 cortisone injections over the past four years, Reyes said.

``Believe me, I'll exhaust all possibilities short of taking too many risks for long term,'' Agassi said. ``I do want to make sure I give myself the best look here, but I don't want to compromise the rest of my life.''