TENNIS/French Open: Mario Ancic, a loose limbed, gangling teenager in ill-fitting shorts and a baggy shirt, arrived on court yesterday to face Andre Agassi for all the world looking like he'd just bunked off double maths.
Before this week began, the 19-year-old had actually been eking out a living on the Challenger Tour, a series of tournaments below the level of the regular circuit.
In hope more than expectation, Ancic, with his callow vigour and fearlessly offensive tennis, almost pulled it off.
With 14 years between the two players, the talk was of how long Agassi would take to send Ancic back to division two in what was his debut French Open.
But it was the younger player who controlled the first two hours of this gripping match before 33-year-old Agassi, a 1 to 20 shot with some bookmakers, finally roped him in to win 5-7, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2, 7-5.
"He definitely came off with a great start," said Agassi. "I knew it and I found myself in a hole.
"But something is always going to change psychologically when you get towards the end of it and the question was how he was going to handle it. Then I was able to step up my game a little.
"What I focus on is not whether I'm going to lose. I try to focus on what I can execute to help me win."
It took over three tense hours and in doing it Agassi, in his 15th appearance at Roland Garros, has over-taken Pete Sampras in the number of career matches he has won (763) and stands at joint sixth on the all-time list of Open era matches won.
Jimmy Connors with 1,155 heads the table.
Ancic, whose voice and phrasing is exactly like that of compatriot Goran Ivanisevic, fortuitously advanced to the second round to meet Agassi when his first round opponent Marcelo Rios retired at 6-1, 1-0 due to pain in his left arm.
His only ever other Grand Slam victory was at Wimbledon last year where as a qualifier he upset the number seven seed Roger Federer in three sets before losing second round to Jan Vacek.
But yesterday Ancic belied his ranking and perceived ability in the match of the tournament thus far.
Taking advantage of the American's inability to find his range or width off the ground and effectively following in some heavy serving with well placed volleys at the net, Ancic took the first set 7-5 and added a 6-1 second as Agassi's game evaporated.
Clearly concerned, the American went through the entire range of racquets in his bag in an effort to steer the contest back under his control. But even then the question was whether he could find his accuracy against a clearly dangerous opponent in time to launch a credible offensive.
In the third set Ancic broke Agassi's first serve and although the 1999 winner broke back for 2-2, it did not come without a fusillade of errors.
Finally a lob as Ancic patrolled the net gave the number two seed his first set of the match.
That appeared to gel Agassi and a 6-2 fourth set sent the game into a sundown finish.
Again Agassi, impressively focused even as the fans insisted on prolonged Mexican forcing him to delay at serving, broke twice for 5-1 before again letting Ancic creep back to 5-4. But by then he had restored order, finally taking the fifth 7-5.
"I hope to get in a few games and then maybe shift my game," said Agassi, who prepared for Paris by running in sand Dunes in Nevada in 100 degree temperatures.
