New York, August 29 :

Andre Agassi refused to go gently into the night in his final tournament by coming back to beat Andrei Pavel of Romania 6-7 (4), 7-6 (8), 7-6 (6), 6-2 at the US Open on Tuesday.

Before Agassi’s match, the US Tennis Association rededicated its facility, naming it the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. And Jimmy Connors was on the scene, too, coaching Andy Roddick and soaking in the adoration.

Roddick began this year’s last major by beating Florent Serra of France 6-2, 6-1, 6-3, and joined four other past Open champions in the second round: Justine Henin-Hardenne, Lindsay Davenport, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Agassi.

Second-seeded Henin-Hardenne breezed past Maria Elena Camerin of Italy 6-2, 6-1, No 10-seeded Davenport defeated Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-4, and No 6 Kuznetsova beat Sandra Kloesel of Germany 6-2, 2-6, 6-3. Sania Mirza of India beat Karolina Sprem of Croatia 6-4, 6-2.

Meanwhile, Feliciano Lopez of Spain ousted third-seeded Ivan Ljubicic 6-3, 6-3 6-3 in the first

big upset, a fate barely avoided by Agassi.

Next for Agassi is a match against eighth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, a 21-year-old player who reached the Australian Open final and Wimbledon semi-finals this year.

Agassi won the Open in 1994 and 1999, part of his collection of eight Grand Slam titles, and was the runner-up four times, including last year. When Agassi won that first US Open championship, his blond hair was long and tucked under a cap, his shirt was a loud purple, and he wore a pinkie ring and dangling earring.

Agassi provided glimpses of his glorious past, of the player who’s won 60 singles titles. He smacked 17 aces at up to 125 mph. He took as big a cut as you’ll ever see on some groundstrokes, as though putting whatever energy he might have left into each swing. He used what was often considered his trademark, the hard-hit return, to gain the advantage at times.