U.S. Open: Exit Agassi

By Stephen M. Silverman

07/31/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

There was a shocker at the U.S. Open on Thursday: Top-seeded Andre Agassi, 30, was upset by France's Arnaud Clement (ranked 37th), 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, in an hour and 42 minutes. Agassi's second-round departure was his earliest at the Open since 1993, when he was bounced in the first round. "It was just a brutal day," Agassi said afterward, appearing stunned and keeping his answers to reporters as short as possible. Indeed, it's been a brutal summer for the world's No. 1-ranked tennis player. From a run of four straight Grand Slam finals and three titles, he slipped to second-round exits in the French and U.S. Opens, and a painful semifinal loss at Wimbledon. He also injured his back, and learned that his mother, Elizabeth, had breast cancer, as does his sister Tammee. On a brighter note, reports the Associated Press, when Agassi spotted his girlfriend, Steffi Graf, only moments after the match, he smiled, danced and bumped hips with her.