Agassi begins his Wimbledon farewell with a four-set win

WIMBLEDON, England -- 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 All England Club on a day filled with all manner of matches thanks to rain Monday that permitted only about 30 minutes of play.

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.

Agassi came to Wimbledon having played one match the past three months because of back problems..

When he won the first of his eight Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon 14 years ago, he beat Boris Becker in the quarterfinals, John McEnroe -- yep, that John McEnroe -- in the semifinals, and Goran Ivanisevic in the final. Agassi was 22 at the time, reveling in his rebelliousness.

Now he's married to Steffi Graf, is a father of two -- 4-year-old son Jaden strung together the necklace Agassi wore on court Tuesday -- and emblematic of the tennis establishment. Plus, he's playing guys he's never heard of.

Pashanski, 23, had never played at a major until this year, and was the one on court with a hat turned backward Tuesday. Agassi is 36 and looked it for moments, particularly near the end, with an extra hitch in his step.

"You could see that he is not really moving great," Pashanski said.

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WIMBLEDON

Tuesday; At The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, Wimbledon, England; Purse: $18.87 million (Grand Slam); Surface: Grass-Outdoor

Men

First Round

David Nalbandian (4), Argentina, def. Wesley Moodie, South Africa, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1.

Juan Carlos Ferrero (24), Spain, def. Fernando Vicente, Spain, 6-1, 6-3, 6-2.

Jonas Bjorkman, Sweden, def. Thomas Johansson (12), Sweden, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1, 6-1.

Wang Yeu-tzuoo, Taiwan, def. Oliver Marach, Austria, 6-1, 7-6 (2), 6-0.

Tomas Berdych (13), Czech Republic, def. Jan Hernych, Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5.

Roko Karanusic, Croatia, def. Rainer Schuettler, Germany, 7-6 (7), 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.

Mikhail Youzhny, Russia, def. Potito Starace, Italy, 6-0, 6-4, 6-1.

Lukas Dlouhy, Czech Republic, def. Florent Serra, France, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5.

Mario Ancic (7), Croatia, def. Nicolas Almagro, Spain, 7-6 (2), 7-5, 7-6 (4).

Davide Sanguinetti, Italy, def. Kevin Kim, United States, 6-3, 7-6 (10), 6-1.

Fabrice Santoro, France, def. Wayne Arthurs, Australia, 7-6 (3), 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

James Blake (8), United States, def. Kristian Pless, Denmark, 6-3, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4.

Arnaud Clement, France, def. Albert Portas, Spain, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

Roger Federer (1), Switzerland, def. Richard Gasquet, France, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.

Kristof Vliegen (30), Belgium, def. Jiri Novak, Czech Republic, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2.

Igor Kunitsyn, Russia, def. Gael Monfils (21), France, 5-7, 7-6 (7), 6-3, 6-4.

Xavier Malisse, Belgium, def. Benedikt Dorsch, Germany, 6-2, 7-5, 6-2.

Nicolas Mahut, France, def. Jurgen Melzer, Austria, 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-1, 6-4.

Novak Djokovic, Serbia, def. Paul Goldstein, United States, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (3).

Tim Henman, Britain, def. Robin Soderling, Sweden, 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 6-3.

Radek Stepanek (14), Czech Republic, def. Frank Dancevic, Canada, 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-4.

Agustin Calleri, Argentina, def. Paradorn Srichaphan (29), Thailand, 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

Andre Agassi (25), United States, def. Boris Pashanski, Serbia, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3.

Mark Philippoussis, Australia, def. Paul-Henri Mathieu (32), France, 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (12).

Stanislas Wawrinka, Switzerland, def. Ivo Karlovic, Croatia, 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-2, 6-7 (8), 11-9.

Max Mirnyi, Belarus, def. Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, Spain, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.

Richard Bloomfield, Britain, def. Carlos Berlocq, Argentina, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.

Tommy Robredo (11), Spain, def. Simon Greul, Germany, 6-2, 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (3).

Daniele Bracciali, Italy, def. Dominik Hrbaty (20), Slovakia, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4.

Tommy Haas (19), Germany, def. Jiri Vanek, Czech Republic, 7-6 (2), 7-5, 6-4.

Benjamin Becker, Germany, def. Juan Ignacio Chela, Argentina, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Olivier Rochus (26), Belgium, def. Gilles Muller, Luxembourg, 6-4, 7-5, 6-3.

Marat Safin, Russia, def. Greg Rusedski, Britain, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

Robert Kendrick, United States, def. Lu Yen-hsun, Taiwan, 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-0.

Andy Murray, Britain, def. Nicolas Massu (31), Chile, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.

Rafael Nadal (2), Spain, def. Alex Bogdanovic, Britain, 6-4, 7-6 (3), 6-4.

Fernando Verdasco (28), Spain, def. Vince Spadea, United States, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (1), 6-3.

Jamie Delgado, Britain, def. Michael Berrer, Germany, 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 3-6, 6-3.

Stefano Galvani, Italy, def. Alexander Waske, Germany, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4, 3-6, 16-14.

Fernando Gonzalez (10), Chile, def. Luis Horna, Peru, 7-6 (3), 7-5, 6-2.

Philipp Kohlschreiber, Germany, def. Razvan Sabau, Romania, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

Andreas Seppi, Italy, vs. Jamie Baker, Britain, 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-3.

Florian Mayer, Germany, leads Robin Vik, Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-3, susp., darkness.

Alejandro Falla, Colombia, vs. Nikolay Davydenko (9), Russia, 2-6, 7-6 (4), susp., darkness.

Bjorn Phau, Germany, vs. Julien Benneteau, France, 7-5, 4-6, susp., darkness.

Tomas Zib, Czech Republic, leads Albert Montanes, Spain, 6-3, 6-4, 4-4, susp., darkness.

Women

First Round

Justine Henin-Hardenne (3), Belgium, def. Yuan Meng, China, 6-0, 6-1.

Svetlana Kuznetsova (5), Russia, def. Romina Oprandi, Italy, 6-3, 6-2.

Kveta Peschke, Czech Republic, def. Kristina Brandi, Puerto Rico, 6-3, 6-0.

Tathiana Garbin, Italy, def. Katie O'Brien, Britain, 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2.

Martina Hingis (12), Switzerland, def. Olga Savchuk, Ukraine, 6-2, 6-2.

Eva Birnerova, Czech Republic, def. Sofia Arvidsson (28), Sweden, 6-2, 6-4.

Daniela Hantuchova (15), Slovakia, def. Maria Elena Camerin, Italy, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.

Zheng Jie, China, def. Iveta Benesova, Czech Republic, 7-5, 6-2.

Viktoriya Kutuzova, Ukraine, def. Lilia Osterloh, United States, 6-4, 3-3, retired.

Virginia Ruano Pascual, Spain, def. Hana Sromova, Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-3.

Gisela Dulko (31), Argentina, def. Emma Laine, Finland, 7-6 (11), 6-1.

Jamea Jackson, United States, def. Kirsten Flipkens, Belgium, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Ai Sugiyama (18), Japan, def. Naomi Cavaday, Britain, 6-4, 7-5.

Li Na (27), China, def. Virginie Razzano, France, 6-2, 6-0.

Akiko Morigami, Japan, def. Vera Dushevina, Russia, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Alicia Molik, Australia, def. Chan Yung-jan, Taiwan, 7-5, 6-1.

Tamarine Tanasugarn, Thailand, def. Catalina Castano, Colombia, 6-7 (2), 6-1, 6-2.

Ekaterina Bychkova, Russia, def. Aiko Nakamura, Japan, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3.

Kim Clijsters (2), Belgium, def. Vera Zvonareva, Russia, 7-5, 6-3.

Karolina Sprem, Croatia, def. Anne Keothavong, Britain, 6-0, 6-2.

Katarina Srebotnik (21), Slovenia, def. Martina Sucha, Slovakia, 6-4, 6-1.

Meilen Tu, United States, def. Vassilissa Bardina, Russia, 6-3, 6-0.

Marion Bartoli (24), France, def. Camille Pin, France, 6-0, 6-2.

Shinobu Asagoe, Japan, def. Maria Kirilenko (17), Russia, 6-2, 7-6 (1).

Elena Vesnina, Russia, def. Maria Sanchez Lorenzo, Spain, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Severine Bremond, France, def. Anastasia Yakimova, Belarus, 7-5, 6-3.

Anna Chakvetadze (30), Russia, def. Yan Zi, China, 6-3, 6-2.

Agnieszka Radwanska, Poland, def. Viktoria Azarenka, Belarus, 7-5, 6-4.

Patty Schnyder (8), Switzerland, def. Antonella Serra Zanetti, Italy, 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2.

Katerina Bondarenko, Ukraine, def. Ivana Lisjak, Croatia, 6-4, 7-5.

Nicole Vaidisova (10), Czech Republic, def. Klara Koukalova, Czech Republic, 7-5, 7-5.

Tzvetana Pironkova, Bulgaria, def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld (13), Germany, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.