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Marathon Man

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  • Marathon Man

    MARATHON MAN
    By BRIAN LEWIS

    New York Post
    September 3, 2004

    September 3, 2004 -- Sargis Sargsian dropped to his knees and
    covered his moist eyes, overcome with a mixture of exhaustion
    and emotion. He draped an Armenian flag over his shoulders and
    celebrated the second-longest win in U.S. Open history -- and the
    most dramatic of this summer's classic. He had just upset two-time
    Olympic gold medallist Nicolas Massu 6-7 (8), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (6),
    6-4 in a marathon that lasted five hours and nine minutes, a tilt
    that saw the 10th-seeded Chilean lose first his poise, then the
    hotly-contested match on Court 11.

    "I lost the match and I'm so [peeved] about it," Massu said. "I can't
    believe they...what happened on the court is too much. It's too much
    for five hours to believe in everything, to fight...to accept that
    you lost the match. It's difficult."

    It was the second-longest match ever at the U.S. Open, behind only
    Stefan Edberg's 6-7, 7-5, 7-6, 5-7, 6-4 win over Michael Chang that
    lasted five hours and 26 minutes in 1992.

    Sargsian kept his cool, with his serve getting better and better as the
    match went on. Meanwhile, Massu showed precious little sportsmanship or
    Olympic spirit with an on-court tantrum. "I was too tired to notice,"
    Sargsian said. "My legs were [going to give out], so I was just trying
    to hold on."

    After spraying a return shot long, Massu dropped his racquet to
    the court and yelled at it, as if it were to blame. He battered the
    U.S. Open sign with his racquet and got warnings in the first two sets,
    and lost a point, dropping the second set 6-4. In the fourth set, he
    argued a call with chair umpire Carlos Ramos. He slammed his racquet
    down so hard, it bounced up over his head.

    Destroying a racquet is an automatic penalty, so Sargsian was awarded
    the first game of the fifth set. Massu appealed to famed Wimbledon ref
    Alan Mills -- serving as Grand Slam ref -- but his backhand deserted
    him in the fifth set, and Sargsian went on earn a third-round date
    with Paul Henri-Mathieu, who beat Taylor Dent.


    "I didn't lose the match because of that, but it's hard to believe
    this guy didn't use his head. All the players throw the racquet,"
    said Massu, who spent close to an hour after the match griping to
    Open officials. "I play for five hours, I fight, and this guy comes
    and gives me three warnings."
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