Agassi given no favors in final appearance in Grand Slam event

NEW YORK -- If Andre Agassi is going to make an extended run at his final U.S. Open -- as plenty of fans, tournament organizers and TV executives, not to mention Agassi himself, surely hope -- he's got his work cut out for him.

Agassi's path at the last tournament of his career shapes up as a tough one thanks to a draw Wednesday that includes a potential second-round match against rising star Marcos Baghdatis and possible fourth-round showdown against Andy Roddick.

The 36-year-old Agassi, an eight-time Grand Slam champion, faces Andrei Pavel of Romania in the first round. Pavel is a former top-20 player currently ranked 76th; Agassi has won five of their six previous matches.

If Agassi gets past that, he could face the eighth-seeded Baghdatis, a 21-year-old from Cyprus who was the runner-up at this year's Australian Open and a semifinalist at Wimbledon.

"If Baghdatis is on and healthy and fit," said U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe, John's brother, "I think that's a very tough match for Andre to win right now."

Two rounds later might bring another intergenerational clash -- against Roddick, who'll turn 24 next week, was the 2003 U.S. Open champion and is seeded ninth.

Hampered by a bad back, Agassi is 8-7 in 2006, never going beyond the quarterfinals at any event, and he withdrew from two tournaments this month. That's dropped his ranking to 37th, which is why he's unseeded a year after reaching the final.

Agassi also wasn't seeded in 1994 -- when he won his first Open title.

Another past U.S. Open champion and No. 1 player who's unseeded this year, Serena Williams, also was given a rough draw. She fell out of the top 100 while sidelined with a left knee injury and needed a wild card to enter the tournament.

Her possible second-round opponent is No. 17 Daniela Hantuchova, who knocked off Williams in the Australian Open's third round in January. If Williams reaches the third round, she could face No. 16 Ana Ivanovic, who won last week's Open tuneup at Montreal and leads the U.S. Open Series standings.

Should Williams get to the fourth round, her opponent could be No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo, the reigning Wimbledon and Australian Open champion.

On paper, the women's quarterfinals could be Mauresmo vs. No. 8 Martina Hingis (the 1997 champion), No. 3 Maria Sharapova vs. No. 5 Nadia Petrova, No. 2 Justine Henin-Hardenne (the 2003 champion) vs. No. 7 Patty Schnyder, and No. 4 Elena Dementieva vs. No. 6 Svetlana Kuznetsova, in what would be a rematch of the 2004 final, won by Kuznetsova.

The potential men's quarterfinals would be: No. 1 Roger Federer vs. No. 5 James Blake, No. 4 David Nalbandian vs. No. 7 Nikolay Davydenko, No. 2 Rafael Nadal vs. No. 6 Tommy Robredo, and Baghdatis vs. No. 3 Ivan Ljubicic.