U.S. Open: Agassi, King earn cheers

NEW YORK — If Andre Agassi keeps this up, it's going to be absolutely exhausting. For him, for his opponent, for his fans, for everyone at the U.S. Open.

Knowing each time he steps on the tennis court could be his last match as a pro, Agassi clearly does not want to go gently. He kept overcoming deficits Monday night, pushing his 36-year-old body around Arthur Ashe Stadium for 3 ½ hours.

Eventually, Agassi managed to win the first match of his final tournament, coming back to beat Andrei Pavel of Romania 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (10-8), 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 before a crowd of 23,736, an Open record for a night session.

Earlier, 62-year-old Billie Jean King was honored when the home of the tournament had its name changed from the USTA National Tennis Center to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

King won 39 Grand Slam tournament titles. The champion in singles, doubles and mixed doubles made an equally — if not more important — mark as a pioneer for the equality of women.

In addition to 67 singles titles on Tour, King earned a monumental victory for women's rights by beating Bobby Riggs in the 1973 "Battle of the Sexes" match at the Astrodome in Houston. The importance of that event was felt around the world.

King was responsible for organizing the Women's Tennis Association, a union that lobbied for equality in tennis.

"My mom, Betty Moffitt, always told me to follow the Shakespeare saying, 'To thine own self be true,' " said King, as she became emotional on the court while her mother cried in the stands. "I hope to continue to always do that."

King's mother watched as Billie Jean was lauded by such luminaries as Chris Evert, Venus Williams, John McEnroe, and Jimmy Connors — who, like King, were champions at New York's Grand Slam event.

Also on hand to commemorate the dedication of the 46 ½-acre public-parks facility to King were New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Mayor David Dinkins. Diana Ross sang "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" before introducing King to the crowd inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"I don't think it's a stretch to say that Billie Jean King is the single most important person in the history of women's sports," McEnroe said.

After stepping on the court to a rousing ovation, Agassi shared a hug with King, who handled the coin toss.

Agassi's eyes welled up with tears as he served out the final point.

"I want to be here real bad, for the whole two weeks," Agassi told the crowd during a postmatch interview. "I really want to leave my best stuff on the court. ... I'm very proud of this day, and I'm glad it gets to happen again."

There were moments, though, when it looked as if Las Vegas resident Agassi would be bidding farewell for good. After he lost the first set, for example. And especially when he fell behind 4-0 in the third set, causing his wife, retired superstar Steffi Graf, to pace a bit.

Yet that was when Agassi found the energy and shots to reverse things. Coincidence or not, he went on a five-game run shortly after motioning to his coach, Darren Cahill, to bring him more tightly strung rackets.

Connors, in addition to honoring King, coached Andy Roddick and soaked in the adoration from fans.

Roddick enlisted Connors last month, after a third-round exit at Wimbledon, and the partnership appears to be paying off. Roddick says his attitude can't help but be improved with the enthusiastic Connors in his corner, and the 2003 U.S. Open champion began this year's last major tournament by beating Florent Serra of France 6-2, 6-1, 6-3.

Roddick joined four other past Open champions who reached the second round: American Lindsay Davenport, Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne, Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova and, of course, Agassi, bad back and all.

Note

• Russian Maria Sharapova is committing to a "lifetime" of sponsoring Prince, the only racket brand she has used as a pro.

Sharapova, 19, and Prince have agreed to an endorsement deal that will last until the end of her playing career and beyond.

The contract is set up to be worth about $25 million over the next 10 years, according to a person in the tennis industry who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.