Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, Maria Sharapova and
everyone else at the U.S. Open was made to wait as light,
intermittent rain and strong wind delayed the start of play for at
least four hours Saturday.
By 3 p.m. ET, the action across the grounds at the USTA Billie
Jean King National Tennis Center had been limited to practice
strokes between rain drops. Sharapova and Roddick _ scheduled for
the day's first two matches in Arthur Ashe Stadium _ shared centre
court while hitting with their practice partners.
Agassi was scheduled to face German qualifier Benjamin Becker in
the third match on that court, but there remained the possibility of
the entire day session being postponed.
And that might have been just fine with Agassi. The eight-time
major champion has needed two injections this week as he tries to
push his 36-year-old body and bad back to the limit in the last
tournament of his career.
``I would only imagine that any additional rest would be a
help,'' said Gil Reyes, Agassi's trainer.
Agassi was given an injection of anti-inflammatory medication
Friday, Reyes said. Unlike Tuesday, when Agassi went to a hospital
for a cortisone shot, this procedure was done at Agassi's hotel,
because his back hurt too much for a car ride.
``The hope is obviously that Andre be able to compete and that
his body can match his heart,'' Reyes said. ``There is no big
picture. This is the big picture. He must bring his all and leave
his all. Once Andre announced his intention to retire, everything
became about getting him here. Now that he's here ... he has no
option but to do everything he can to fight to the finish.''
Other players scheduled to be on court Saturday, weather
permitting, included past U.S. Open champions Lindsay Davenport,
Marat Safin and Roddick _ who could face Agassi in the round of 16.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
