Agassi stays alive with five-set win over Baghdatis

NEW YORK, Sept 1 (Reuters) Andre Agassi kept his U S Open campaign alive and staved off retirement again with a 6-4 6-4 3-6 5-7 7-5 victory over a battling Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus to reach the third round here.

Agassi, ending his illustrious career after this 21st successive trip to the Open, extended his Open run by closing out an extraordinary fifth set against a cramping Baghdatis with a service break to finish the three- hour 48 minute contest.

The 36-year-old American squandered a 4-0 lead in the fourth set as the 21-year-old eighth seed slugged his way back on serve with two service breaks and added another to force a fifth set.

Eight-times grand slam winner and double US champion Agassi will next play 112th-ranked German qualifier Benjamin Becker, a straight-sets winner over 30th seed Sebastien Grosjean of France.

REUTERS DH RN1041