Agassi vs. Blake. Incredible!
- Thread starter E46luver
- Start date
Third Serve
Talk Tennis Guru
Awesome share 
Rhino
Legend
What are you on about? It's Agassi vs Blake, USO05 QF.
MeatTornado
Talk Tennis Guru
Even if it was a blowout (it wasn't), the quality of shot-making is more than worth re-watching again and again.
MeatTornado
Talk Tennis Guru
This match is still one of the first things that pops into my mind when I hear the words "US Open."
Two aggressive hitting Americans going the distance on Arthur Ashe in front of an electric crowd. We don't get anything like this any more. I know crowds still go nuts for Roger & Rafa, but the place just hasn't been the same since Andre and then Andy stopped playing.
Two aggressive hitting Americans going the distance on Arthur Ashe in front of an electric crowd. We don't get anything like this any more. I know crowds still go nuts for Roger & Rafa, but the place just hasn't been the same since Andre and then Andy stopped playing.
McGradey
Professional
Because the quality of shotmaking in the match is outrageous. It’s like a boxing match with both fighters throwing KO punches constantly.
Same thing with Nadal v Verdasco AO 2009.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
Andre Goat.
OldschoolKIaus
Hall of Fame
Superb footage.
sredna42
Hall of Fame
I go through bouts of watching that match every few days. I wish Blake would have won, but it is what it is. Absolutely awesome match.
ChaelAZ
G.O.A.T.
One of my favorite matches ever. I remember watching it live.
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MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
The crisp, the crisp
Rattler
Hall of Fame
I had a better seat.Here's a pic I took from that night:
sredna42
Hall of Fame
Lol nah i mean I'll watch it a few times over the course of a day or two, then not watch it for however many months etc.
The ball striking of the players back then was friggin insane. Off the top of my head, watch this match between roddick and el alnouyoi
Roddick85
Hall of Fame
As Robbie Koenig would say, it was a shot making master class. I watch the highlights from that match on occasion, such an entertaining match, easily one of my favorite at the USO.
For me the Agassi-Federer rivalry is very underrated. While Agassi may have been near the end of his career and not as fresh physically, he was still very capable at times. The purely offensive matches were a joy to watch.
It's funny because growing up, if you asked me what my favorite slam was, total no brainier, it was the USO. While it still had some good matches between 2010-2019, I always feel like the event lost it's appeal over the years. Perhaps Agassi/Sampras/Roddick retiring took away some interest from the american fans but I don't think it's only that. When I look at the last 10 years, the weather spoiled the tournament/schedule many times. They added a roof to mitigate that, but it also changed the dynamic of the event which hasn't been positive either.
MeatTornado
Talk Tennis Guru
Couldn't agree more about my feeling of the tourny. It wasn't even a question that the USO was my favorite. But it gets harder and harder every year to get excited about it. Between the weather, the slowing of the courts, the lack of American players, and the new roofs, it just doesn't feel the same. I expected new dynamics within Ashe stadium, but I never could've imagined how depressing the tournament could seem on TV after adding a roof. The sound is so messed up now.
Idk how long it's going to be until I'm used to the new Armstrong and Grandstand courts. The old ones had such a unique feel that's hard to replicate.
Hitman
Talk Tennis Guru
One of the best matches I have ever seen. The ball striking, the crowd, the energy, the comeback, the climax. It had such a big fight feel to it under the lights and back drop of NYC. Great night to be a tennis fan, seen this match in full a couple of time overs the years. I always end up smiling at the end.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
The lack of american players definitely hurts the "feeling" of it. But Nadal helps
D
Deleted member 769694
Guest
That call at like 19-18 on the ad side was one of the worst calls in tennis history. Cost him the match
MeatTornado
Talk Tennis Guru
I'll never forgive him for that shellacking he gave Andy in 2011.The lack of american players definitely hurts the "feeling" of it. But Nadal helps
Hitman
Talk Tennis Guru
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
Roddick85
Hall of Fame
I really don't understand what the organizers were thinking on this one. The roof was definitely a necessity and I think all outdoor tournaments should have one as a backup plan when the weather doesn't cooperate. With that being said, I think the roof was poorly implemented on Ashe. For starters when it's closed, the ventilation becomes an issue as the heat gets trapped inside, players start sweating even more, no one's comfortable, playing conditions slow down. Then when you look at the stadium's acoustics which were among the best in the world, with the roof closed it definitely doesn't sound the same, and I'm only saying this as a TV spectator. The "icing on the cake" is the court speed. Back in it's prime when Sampras/Agassi were playing, it was a fast hard court event, AO was the slow one. Over the years, that sort of shifted. So when you factor all of these things together, you have a tournaments that's nowhere near as enjoyable as it was 20 years ago.
MeatTornado
Talk Tennis Guru
I really wish we could get back to Australia being the slow hard court and NY being the fast one.
Slow in the beginning of the year when everyone's fresh and can handle long rallies. Leads more naturally into the still slow Sunshine swing which leads into the even slower clay season. Put the fast hard court towards the end of the year when everyone's starting to run out of steam and could benefit from quicker matches.
ghostofMecir
Hall of Fame
It’s really too bad. Blake didn’t get better caching when he was younger. He has amazing hand-eye reaction on his FH, great explosive athleticism, but his BH, though it could laser some winners every now and then, rarely netted him a positive ratio in rallies (positioning, end point, etc.). He could have been so much more than he was.
This match was also made interesting because there was zero time wasting between points by either player. Three set matches between some players took longer than this 5 set match.
This match was also made interesting because there was zero time wasting between points by either player. Three set matches between some players took longer than this 5 set match.
Watching brilliant tennis or drama is first and foremost.The lack of american players definitely hurts the "feeling" of it. But Nadal helps
Having a country man/woman to cheer for is gravy.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
E46luver
Professional
What point are you talking about?
Seemed like Andy got all the bad calls, but Andy won the match.
E46luver
Professional
wow, so many lazy slices by el alnouyoi and his perma grin
what a master class in pushing, especially on the serve return.
dreadlock guy just blocked all of Andy's serves back, and nothing andy could do about it.
