Baghdatis battered after Agassi thriller

NEW YORK, Sep 1 (Reuters) Exhausted, battling a sore wrist and suffering cramp in both thighs, Marcos Baghdatis was not about to throw in the towel.

''I just wanted to fight, you know?,'' said Baghdatis. ''Playing Andre on the center court of Arthur Ashe, I was ready to die on the court.

''I will do anything to win. That's all. That's what I did.'' Baghdatis was on the short end of an epic five-set thriller against Andre Agassi yesterday, a second-round encounter at the US Open that will surely become a highlight film.

A capacity crowd of nearly 24,000 packed Arthur Ashe Stadium for the match, with virtually all of them cheering for Agassi during his 6-4 6-4 3-6 5-7 7-5 triumph.

But while the 21-year-old Cypriot had to play the role of villain during the match, the crowd cheered him wildly at the end for his grit, determination and skill.

With the 36-year-old Agassi retiring after the Open, Baghdatis was painfully close to being the player that sent the career grand slam winner off the court for the final time.

Baghdatis said it was no surprise he was the one who cramped up despite being 15 years Agassi's junior. He said the leg problems were from mental pressure.

''It wasn't physical,'' he said. ''I think it was about stress.

It's not easy. You have to control yourself. Andre has more experience than me, so maybe that's why (he didn't cramp).'' The two weary players embraced on the court after the three-hour, 48-minute match.

Baghdatis fought back from two sets down and recovered from a 4-0 deficit in the fourth set. He could barely walk at times but somehow managed to blast an ace down the middle.

''It's a guy like that that makes it easier to walk away from the game because you see what kind of hands it's in,'' Agassi told a post-match news conference.

''He's just a true professional with a lot of style and a lot of charisma and a lot of talent.'' Agassi, who must now prepare for German Benjamin Becker in the third round, limped noticeably into the news conference and sat down gingerly in a chair.

He had received an injection of cortisone prior to the match to help ease his chronic back pain.

''The cool down is just the worst part,'' said Agassi, who showed no sign of back pain during the match. ''I knew it going out there.

I can give it, you know, three, four hours.

''But it's just afterwards, I just don't know what to expect anymore. It's just not getting easier.'' REUTERS DH SSC1238