| Clement Ousts Defending Champ Agassi | |
Dateline: 09/01/00
Arnaud Clement of France defeated defending singles champion Andre Agassi in the second round of the U.S. Open Thursday. As CBS commentator Patrick McEnroe pointed out, for Clement to win was not too surprising, but the ease of his win, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, was.
When the two met at the 1999 French Open, Clement had the match in hand and was two points from victory. Clement then seemed to tighten up while trying to close it out, and Agassi went on to win the title, which reignited his career. This time, Clement didn't choke, and Agassi, as Clement was quick to note, was not nearly as fully engaged.
The reason for Agassi's lack of sharpness is widely believed to be related to his learning recently that his mother is now battling breast cancer, along with his sister, who was diagnosed a year ago. Adding to his bad summer was a car accident after Wimbledon that injured his back and kept him from playing as much as usual.
Agassi was quite gracious in his post-match interviews, making no excuses and giving Clement credit that was clearly due. Clement plays a game much like Agassi's, taking groundstrokes early and placing them powerfully at sharp angles. He's an exciting player, and he's been playing well lately, but whether he has the tenacity to survive seven matches is a big question.
Timberhart was prophetic in his "US Open 2000: Who will win?" discussion, saying, "Will Agassi totally recover from his back problem and play great and defend his US Open crown? I don't think so." Please join that diverse pool of predictions, or respond to Sophiedee, who started a new discussion, "Clement at his best could win."
