Taipei, Jan. 6 (CNA) Tennis great Andre Agassi rallied to beat Marat Safin of Russia 2-6, 7-6 (9-7), 13-11 in the highlight of two exhibition matches that thrilled an unusually large tennis crowd for Taiwan Thursday evening.
Agassi, 40, told fans after the match that it was an honor for him to come back to Taiwan since visits he made in 1986 and 1988, and that he had a lot of fun playing Safin, who is 10 years younger but who retired last year at the early age of 29.
Comparing the night with his farewell showing in the 2006 United States Tennis Open, Agassi jokingly said: "Nobody asked me to marry her this time so I'm a little bit disappointed."
He also showed his humorous side with an impromptu act that ultimately became the highlight of the evening. Trailing 6-5 in the second set, Agassi handed his racket to two local ball boys and had them play in turns against Safin briefly, while the eight-time Grand Slam winner served as a ball boy.
Safin had a quick start in the match, taking the first set quickly, but encountered trouble in the second.
Earlier in the evening, local favorite Lu Yen-hsun beat world No. 10 Mikhail Youzhny 7-6 (7-5) in the first match of the event, a one- set exhibition in front of a cheering crowd of thousands.
The world No. 35 broke Youzhny in the third game and held serve for a 3-1 advantage, but Youzhny rallied on his well-known one-handed backhand to take a 5-4 lead. In the tiebreaker, Lu seized the momentum with an ace for a 3-0 lead and a win.
The exhibition events, titled the "Rise of Legends, " feature Agassi, Safin, Youzhny and local players Lu and Jimmy Wang. The second round of matches are scheduled to be played in the southern city of Kaohsiung Jan. 8.
The attendance at the Taipei event was 9,500 -- around 70 percent of the capacity of the Taipei Arena, according to the organizers, with the cheaper upper deck selling out. Tickets ranged between NT$800 (US$27.12) and NT$10,000. (By Chris Wang) ENDITEM/J