So yesterday there was Andre Agassi’s last match, Lindsay Davenport saving two match points and winning in a third-set tiebreak, Marat Safin winning 8-6 in a fifth-set tiebreak, Andy Roddick winning in five, a special night session in Louie Armstrong, James Blake comes back from 6-2 down in the tiebreak… and six of 16 men’s matches and five of 10 women’s matches went the distance.

All in all, an incredible day and night of tennis.

Today? Not so much. Other than the Tommy Haas-Robby Ginepri five-setter (which the American didn’t even win), there hasn’t been too much excitement. The top Americans (Roddick and Davenport) dominated, the top seeds (Henin-Hardenne, Nadal and Dementieva) dominated.

I guess two straight amazing days would be asking a lot. But there’s no harm is asking, right? Serena Williams and Amelie Mauresmo, the stage is yours.

I ran into some people coming to the Open this morning who were without water and electricity for the third straight day. And I have to admit that I am also powerless.

I know, poor me. But the press room is tight quarters, and my cubicle neighbors—Tommy Hine of the Hartford Courant and Bonnie DeSimone of espn.com appreciate it when I shower. And I appreciate brushing my teeth after drinking 22 Mountain Dews to get through 14 hours of tennis.

I heard on the radio it might be Wednesday before the lights are back on, but I can only hope my local coffee shop, “The Black Cow,”http://www.blackcow.com/ is able to open tommorrow morning.

A couple of pop culture observations. There was that movie, “The Royal Tenenbaums,”:http://movies.about.com/library/weekly/aaroyalpicsa.htm where Luke Wilson (far left) played a former tennis star with a headband and tennis whites, and it’s as if “Tommy Robredo”:http://tommy-robredo.com/node/378 is living the parody. The two look like one of those “Separated at Birth” blurbs.

And last night looking at Andre Agassi’s player box, it looked like he might have been the inspiration for the HBO show “Entourage.”:http://www.hbo.com/entourage/ Perry Rogers is clearly Eric, the friend and manager. Phillip is the the older, less famous brother. That guy in the red track suit must have been the equivalent of Turtle.

There is was, life imitating art.

The U.S. Open is now half over. One week, four rounds to go. So who’s gonna win?

On the men’s side, I like No. 1 Roger Federer vs. No. 17 Andy Murray and No. 2 Rafael Nadal vs. No. 9 Andy Roddick in the semis. I want to pick Nadal, who obviously gives Federer the willies, but I think Roddick beats Nadal, then is simply dominated by Federer in the final. You know, like old times.

On the women’s side, I like unseeded Serena Williams vs. No. 3 Maria Sharapova in one semi and No. 2 Justine Henin-Hardenne vs. No. 4 Elena Dementieva in the other. And, actually, after watching Serena tonight, I think she’s going to win. Ana Ivanovic, who Serena beat last night, was very, very good. But Serena looks pretty darn good herself, much, much better than last year. I think she scares Amelie Mauresmo, who she plays tonight and holds a 9-1 career record against. She wins that, it’s on.

So who has a prediction? Or who thinks mine are off base? Drop us a line.

No, I wasn’t born by 1968 (not even close), but I can, with certainty, tell you two things about the comings and goings in Queens that year: 1) “The Mets were terrible”:http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYM/1968.shtml. 2) The first full-fledged U.S. Open wasn’t a football game disguised as a tennis tournament. “Maybe professional wrestling”:http://bmarcore.club.fr/tennis/a-open/forest-68.jpg but not football.

To tell the truth, I love it. Early in James Blake’s ongoing match, fans united in a wave that made James smile. Then, they serenaded him with a “Let’s go James” chant. In the top row of one deck, four shirtless men had painted their chests to read: “G.O.J.B.”

Pretty cool stuff. But the best of all was the end of the second set. It dragged on into a tiebreaker and Blake and his opponent, Carlos Moya, combined to call on the instant replay system three separate times. Moya, because he had three challenges to spare, asked for replay on two consecutive points. He went 1 for 2.

A few points later, as Blake rallied from a 6-2 deficit to a 7-6 lead, he challenged a forehand shot he thought Moya had hit wide. What happened? A brief delay, then a raucous uproar from the crowd when the call had been overturned. Blake then went bounded across the court pumping his fists. You half-expected the official to say the receiver didn’t get both feet in bounds.

(He then went to the bathroom between sets, a move John McEnroe questioned just now on the USA telecast as Blake played a lackluster third set. John, what was he supposed to do?)

Anyway, the replay game is an interesting one, especially as these sets reach the tiebreaker, where each player gets an extra challenge.

You hope a challenge doesn’t effect either the men’s or women’s final next weekend. You do, however, hope Ashe keeps it’s rowdy atmosphere intact.

Silence and sports just do not mix.

“Andre Agassi’s graceful exit”:http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060904/SPORTS01/609040303/1035 leaves a hole in the draw, but in a way it allows for the real U.S. Open to begin. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were relegated to the smaller show courts today, and have been overshadowed by the now retired American.

Every day, the top story at the U.S. Open has been Agassi. The late night matches, the cortisone shots, what three-set win can ever hope to see daylight against that? When Andre announced his retirement months ago, the Open was destined for this. Today’s final match was the perfect ending to his career. In a way it seems like the Open has ended. But as sad as it is to see Andre go, the beginning of the second week is the perfect time to start fresh.

Serena Williams is still around, knocking out Ana Ivanovic in the third round. Amelie Mauresmo, the top seeded woman, could use a little attention. Lindsay, Rafa, Roddick, “Robredo”:http://www.tommy-robredo.com/—they could all use a little pub.

it results in a really long line. That’s exactly what’s happening right now as the day-session fans empty Arthur Ashe Stadium at the very night-like hour of 8 p.m.

I just got a great first-hand look. There are literally tens of thousands of fans standing outside the gates to Ashe, waiting to get in for the night matches. I tried to take a picture with my camera phone, then realized: A) It’s a terrible camera and B) It doesn’t have a flash. But trust me, just a surreal scene.

The best way I can describe it is this: From where I came down the escalator, the crowd looked like the scene in “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory”:http://imdb.com/title/tt0067992/ when the masses are standing outside Willy Wonka’s gates. (And, yes, I’m talking about the 1971 version. Frankly, I don’t believe the other version exists.)

In truth, U.S. Open organizers can thank Serena Williams for not making matters worse. She could’ve made the night-session crowd wait longer but she beat No. 16 Ana Ivanovic 6-2, 6-4 in 66 minutes. I saw most of this one and Williams looked pretty dominant against a good player. Her serve reached 124 MPH, a speed many men would She may, indeed, be in good form. We will see, as No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo will likely be up next in the fourth-round.

Courtesy of CBS, here is what Andre Agassi said today after he lost in four sets to Benjamin Becker.

“The scoreboard said I lost today, but what the scoreboard doesn’t say is what it is I have found. And over the last 21 years, I have found loyalty. You have pulled for me on the court and also in life. I’ve found inspiration. You have willed me to succeed sometimes even in my lowest moments. And I’ve found generosity. You have given me your shoulders to stand on to reach for my dreams, dreams I never could have reached without you. Over the last 21 years I have found you and I will take you and the memory of you with me for the rest of my life.”

The courts are dry and things are back to normal at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Josh left out one very important American when talking about the men in action today—Vince Spadea. The only tennis player/rapper stage name Vince-sanity, will take on Federer in the first night match. Asked if he had a rhyme for “Federer,” Spadea smiled and said, “He’s a predator.”

I sense a career after tennis.

After rain washed out all today’s matches, U.S. Open officials just announced both the day and night schedules for tomorrow.

It should be one absurdly good day of tennis. All three notable American men — Andre Agassi, James Blake and Andy Roddick — are in action, as are Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Ditto for the women. Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams and Lindsay Davenport will all play, as will top-seeded Amelie Mauresmo.

Here are the show-court highlights, including a special night session on Louie Armstrong:

Arthur Ashe (Day):
Andre Agassi vs. Benjamin Becker, 11 a.m.
No. 9 Andy Roddick vs. No. 22 Fernando Verdasco
Serena Williams vs. No. 16 Ana Ivanovic

Arthur Ashe (Night):
No. 3 Maria Sharapova vs. No. 32 Elena Likhovtseva, 7 p.m.
No. 5 James Blake vs. Carlos Moya

Louis Armstrong (Day):
No. 4 David Nalbandian vs. Marat Safin, 11 a.m.
No. 2 Rafael Nadal vs. Wesley Moodie
No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo vs. Mara Santangelo

Louis Armstrong (Night):
No. 1 Roger Federer vs. Vincent Spadea
No. 1 Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan vs. Thomas Johansson/Robert Lindstedt