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Roddick won't have to shoot 'Bambi'

By TIMES WIRES
Published September 4, 2006

NEW YORK - Andy Roddick was torn when he thought about the possibility of facing Andre Agassi at the U.S. Open.

"Obviously, you want to play against your idols," Roddick said, "but then again, you don't want to be the guy who shot Bambi."

It turns out that someone else ended Agassi's career: German qualifier Benjamin Becker beat him Sunday. And so it's Becker who'll be across the net from Roddick in the fourth round today.

Agassi and Roddick crossed paths Sunday in the locker room. Agassi came in after his loss; Roddick was getting ready to head out for the next match in Arthur Ashe Stadium, which he won 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-2 over 22nd-seeded Fernando Verdasco of Spain.

Roddick joined other players in giving Agassi a standing ovation, then went over to a man he considers a mentor.

"I shook his hand and I said, 'Thanks for teaching me.' He said, 'Good luck,' " Roddick recounted. "I would have loved to have sat down and talked to him for a second, but I had to go play."

And that he did, rallying after losing the first set and keeping his composure after tossing his racket in anger at one point.

"It was a dogfight. It was nice to go in there and get through," Roddick said.

NADAL'S BEST: Rafael Nadal has won the French Open twice and reached the Wimbledon final, but the U.S. Open always has given him trouble.

He made it to the fourth round in New York for the first time by defeating Wesley Moodie 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4).

"It would have been very frustrating failing in this round," said Nadal, who lost in the Open's third round in 2006 and the second round each of the two years before that.

"I'm on cue with what I want here. I'm aiming for the quarterfinal," he added.

WILLIAMS WINS AGAIN: All of that talk about what a daunting draw Serena Williams had sure seems off the mark now.

"I've played myself into the tournament," Williams said.

Next up: No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo tonight.

Because her ranking fell so far during a six-month injury absence, Williams needed a wild card just to enter the tournament. Unseeded, she wound up in a tough section, with No. 16 Ana Ivanovic and No. 17 Daniela Hantuchova in her early path.

Well, Williams followed her straight-set win over Hantuchova by eliminating Ivanovic - the hardcourt circuit U.S. Open series winner - in the third round 6-2, 6-4 on Sunday. Now, seven-time major-champion Williams takes on two-time major champ Mauresmo, who got past Mara Santangelo 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.

Williams leads Mauresmo 9-1 in career meetings.

DAVENPORT'S GOODBYE?: If Lindsay Davenport is playing her final U.S. Open - something she's thought about - she almost said goodbye Sunday.

A set and a break down, then facing two match points, Davenport came all the way back to win 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) against No. 22 Katarina Srebotnik.

"I thought: 'It could be my last match here.' I don't know," said the 30-year-old Davenport, who won the first of her three major titles at the 1998 Open. "I didn't think that necessarily on the match points. You know, there's obviously that possibility."

Her next opponent is No. 7 Patty Schnyder.

[Last modified September 4, 2006, 05:34:06]