Heroic fightback from Agassi is music to the ears of jubilant crowd

'I don't think I've ever played a match point where 20,000 people were just standing'

It was only a first-round match against one of the journeymen of the men's tour, but at half-past midnight a record evening crowd at the US Open was not going to let reality get in the way of their appreciation of the biggest box-office star tennis has known.

As Andre Agassi prepared to served out and secure a 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, 6-2 victory over Andrei Pavel after three-and-a-half hours of energy-sapping drama, the vast majority of the 23,000 spectators were already on their feet. It was as though the 36-year-old veteran, who is playing the last tournament of his 21-year senior career, was on the point of winning not only the US Open title itself but also the World Series, the Super Bowl and Who Wants to be a Millionaire?.

Agassi had fought back the tears before the match and they were welling up again at the end. "I don't think I've ever played a match point where 20,000 people were just standing," he said afterwards. "I didn't anticipate it to be this difficult emotionally. You want to take it in because you know how special it is. You feel it. It's very special to me to be here."

Nobody milks an occasion quite like the Americans and by the time Agassi had taken the stage to Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas" the crowd in Arthur Ashe Stadium were already emotionally charged after a sugar-laden ceremony to mark the renaming of the venue here as the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

However, anything that the Billie Jean tribute band could do - John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert were joined on court by Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York, and Diana Ross, who sang "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" - Agassi could do better.

The man who has played in more US Opens (21) and more Grand Slam tournaments (61) than anyone else in the Open era is still a magnificent shot-maker and some of his service returns, drilled from three feet inside the baseline, were as devastating as ever. However, the back injury that had restricted him to just 16 matches since his run to last year's final has taken its toll and Agassi needed a supreme effort to reach some of Pavel's drop-shots and cross-court drives.

Ranked No 75 in the world, the 32-year-old Romanian is a decent all-court player and his willingness to come to the net, where he played some delicious stop volleys, combined with a flowing one-handed backhand that produced a succession of down-the-line winners, ensured a contest of high quality. McEnroe described it as one of the best first-round matches he had ever seen.

Agassi swept into a 2-0 lead, but Pavel broke back immediately and dominated the eventual tie-break. The public-address system caught the mood with "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" and Agassi admitted afterwards that "the loudest noise in the world is 23,000 quiet New Yorkers".

Determined to raise his fans' spirits, Agassi clung on bravely in the second set, saved a set point and won the tie-break 10-8. The crowd promptly danced and joined in with Barry White's "You're the First, My Last, My Everything", but for the next quarter of an hour it seemed that their hero had given his all. Agassi lost the first four games of the third set, only to turn the match around with one of those stirring comebacks that have been his trademark.

Changing his racket and string tension, Agassi levelled at 4-4 and forced a third tie-break. The tension was so great when he broke to lead 4-2 that the PA system could not resist a burst of the Rolling Stones and "Start Me Up". The crowd booed when the umpire interrupted the fun but eight points later Mick Jagger was in full voice as Agassi's forehand return winner secured the tie-break 8-6.

By now Pavel was struggling with stomach cramps after taking two toilet breaks - "I couldn't concentrate," he said afterwards, adding colourfully that he felt he was "going to explode in my pants" - and Agassi won the final set with something to spare. "I'm very proud of this day," he said afterwards. "It was pretty bleak there in the middle of that third set."

Agassi now faces Marcos Baghdatis, who is an Australian Open finalist and Wimbledon semi-finalist already this year, but the American always believed this first farewell match would prove the most difficult mentally. "I knew that was going to be the toughest one as far as the emotional side of things go, so hopefully I can even pick it up from there."

He even talked about "six more", the number of matches he would play if he reached the final. "I've surprised myself a thousand times for better and for worse," he said. "Stick around to see if I can do that. Miracles can happen."