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Tougher than expected Agassi struggles early before pulling away
Posted: Wednesday May 31, 2000 09:39 PM
PARIS (AP) -- Serving at set point, 108th-ranked wildcard Anthony Dupuis punched the air in delight after slamming a huge ace past Andre Agassi. But he little-known Frenchman hadn't heard a net cord call amid the din from home fans who had begun celebrating the prospect of a huge upset. "I thought I had won the first set," lamented Dupuis. "That would have changed many things." Instead, Agassi clung on, saving three set points before clinching the first-set tiebreaker. "I didn't want to go out and start pulling any triggers, missing shots and not finding my range," Agassi said. "I really wanted to settle into the match." That's exactly what he did, cruising to a 7-6 (9-7), 6-3, 6-4 victory in the first round of the French Open on Wednesday. On the set point, Agassi said he heard the ball hit the net cord "from the second it left his racket." "Actually I heard it early," he joked. "It was definitely a clear let. But it was a big serve." The defending Roland Garros champion applauded a brave performance from Dupuis who, after an undistinguished eight-year professional career, is still a virtual unknown in his home country and has never climbed above 82 in the world rankings. "The difficulty in the first set was the quality of play on his part because he was stepping up hitting my first service for routine winners," Agassi said. "He was hitting as big as anybody. I had to get him off the plate." French fans were pleasantly surprised that Dupuis even got to set point. The clash looked like a colossal mismatch, pairing a 27-year-old contesting only his fourth Grand Slam match against the world No. 1 and defending champion, playing his 178th. But even when defeat was inevitable, Dupuis fought like a tiger, scampering around the baseline to save two match points before eventually succumbing to the American. "Playing a good match against Agassi is something I will remember all my life," he said. "The media makes players like Agassi and Sampras seem as tall as the Himalayas and we feel very small compared to them," he said. "But when I started playing I thought I really could win. I will never play like Agassi but I know in one match anything can happen," he said. As the players shook hands at the net, Dupuis told Agassi that he had been waiting to play him for ten years. "That made me feel old," sighed Agassi.
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