By the time they took the court Thursday, gusts of wind were wreaking havoc on groundstrokes and serves, making the U.S. Open quarterfinal as much about resourcefulness as fitness.
In the end, it was the top-seeded Federer who showed more of both, outlasting the sixth-seeded Agassi, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, to earn a berth in the semifinals against Henman.
Andy Roddick bemoans his missed chances (3 of 15 on break points) in a five-set loss to Sweden's Joachim Johansson.
(John Gress -- Reuters)
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| _____ At a Glance _____
Highlights of Thursday's play at the $17.75 million U.S. Open tennis championships:
• Weather: Overcast early, followed by clearing and strong steady winds with gusts to 39 mph. High of 81.
• Attendance: Day: 15,637. Night: 17,895. Total: 33,532.
• Results: No. 28 Joachim Johansson survived a furious rally by No. 2 Andy Roddick to upset the defending champion in five sets. In matches continued from Wednesday, No. 1 Roger Federer outlasted No. 6 Andre Agassi in five sets, while No. 5 Tim Henman stopped No. 22 Dominik Hrbaty in four sets. No. 4 Lleyton Hewitt routed Tommy Haas in straight sets, losing only six games. In junior action, Gael Monfils of France, going for the first junior Grand Slam since Stefan Edberg in 1983, lost his third-round match to Viktor Troicki of Serbia & Montenegro.
• Stat of the Day: Andy Roddick (34) and Joachim Johansson (30) combined to serve 64 aces.
• Quote of the Day: "Today, hitting the ball in the dead center of the court was a great shot." -- Andre Agassi, on the windy conditions.
• On TV: CBS, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. (live), 12:37-1:07 a.m. (highlights).
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Both Agassi and Federer had trouble adjusting to the wind, which gusted up to 40 mph at times.
"We couldn't play our games," Federer said. "Usually we are guys who look for the winner, you know, play aggressive. But we could not play this way, you know. So it did feel like two different matches."
The wind forced players to completely alter their strategies depending on their side of the court. The conditions clearly affected Federer in the fourth set when he double-faulted three times in the eighth game, eventually leading to a break for Agassi.
"This is as bad as it gets," Agassi said. "I mean, I think anything sort of more than this, there would have to be some serious consideration into postponing matches. I mean, at some point, if chairs are starting to blow over, that's a problem."
Federer's victory continues his quest to win three Grand Slams in the same year -- he has already taken the Australian Open and Wimbledon -- for the first time since Mats Wilander in 1988. But standing in his way will be Britain's Henman. Henman had been trailing Hrbaty 4-5 in the third set on Wednesday night when rain suspended their match.
Despite facing the same gusts of wind that disturbed Agassi and Federer, Hewitt swept past Haas, continuing the strong play that has enabled him to win his last two tournaments leading up to the Open.
Hewitt still has yet to drop a set in Flushing Meadows and has given up an average of just eight games per match thus far.
