For the second straight day, rain wreaked havoc with the U.S. Open, but no player has had his schedule juggled more than Andre Agassi, who had his fifth-round match with Taylor Dent postponed yesterday.
Agassi had to complete his fourth-round match – which began Saturday – on Sunday, while Dent was able to finish his upset of 15th-ranked Fernando Gonzalez on Saturday. Then, Agassi’s match with the 22-year-old Californian, scheduled for yesterday afternoon, was the first to be officially washed into today.
“At that age you’re getting better all the time, so I go out there expecting him to be playing a great match,” said Agassi, who is 2-0 against Dent. “Anything shy of a great match I’m hoping doesn’t get it done for him.”
Dent is having his best U.S. Open. His fourth round appearance is not only his best result, but better than his father, former Aussie great Phil Dent, a top 20 player who reached the Australian Open final and the Wimbledon quarters. Naturally, Dent let dad hear about it. “I had to make sure he was aware,” he said with an impish grin.
With his match washed out, Dent hung out in the lounge playing a miniature golf game. (“I’ve got nothing better to do,” he shrugged.)
It’s taken Dent five years to reach this point, far longer than the headstrong Californian thought it would when he joined the tour.
He has as a 130 mph serve and charges the net aggressively, but Agassi is a baseline wizard and the best returner of this generation. Dent never will beat Agassi unless he volleys well, and he’ll never win a Slam until he becomes more consistent, a lesson he’s learning.
“To continually play at this level, your consistency has to be there,” he said. “It’s still not 100 percent there. That’s the big thing I’m working on. If I can get there, I’ll be able to compete every day.”
If he does that, the 73rd-ranked Dent might rival the accomplishments of his father, or of young Americans like Andy Roddick or James Blake. But he said he’s never had a rivalry with his dad.
“From a young age, my dad made sure I didn’t get into comparing my game to his. It’s too much pressure,” said Dent, whose father pulled back from coaching him when he was 17. “He forewarned me from the beginning; he told me not to even think that way.”
