Players pay homage to Agassi a day after epic

Friday had its own winners and losers at the US Open but players were still buzzing over Andre Agassi's thrilling five-set victory over Marcos Baghdatis a day earlier.

American James Blake took it one step further, sporting a reproduction of a classic, hot-pink outfit worn by Agassi circa 1990 to pay homage to the 36-year-old eight-times grand slam champion who is retiring after the tournament.

Blake had Nike remake the outlandish gear that featured hot pink cycling pants under black shorts with a top sporting matching neon pink bars.

"I thought about all the old stuff he used to wear, how unique it was, how special he made every outfit," Blake told reporters.

The epic second-round match in which Agassi prevailed over a cramping, courageous Baghdatis 6-4 6-4 3-6 5-7 7-5 kept more than 20,000 fans roaring in the stands until nearly 1 a.m.

One keen observer of Agassi's victory was 25-year-old German qualifier Benjamin Becker, who knew he would be facing the winner of the match in the third round.

"The level was really, really high," said Becker, who said he grew up pretending to be Agassi when he took the court.

"I really was impressed with the way they both played and how tough they were too... both of them are champions."