By Matthew Cronin

NEW YORK - After his thrilling and heartfelt 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-1 loss to Roger Federer in the final of the US Open, And n obvious for a year now: that even his legendary best isn’t good enough to take down the great Swiss.

If Agassi’s can’t, then who can?

Agassi played about as well as he could have in defeat, but when the match turned around in the third set tiebreaker, he was left in the dust by a guy who truly believes that he can hit whichever magical shots he needs at crunch time.

He goes for them and they go in. That’s why Agassi said that of all the greats he has beaten and lost to, that Federer is the best. That includes the widely acknowledged best of all time, 14-time Grand Slam winner Pete Sampras, as well as six other guys whom he played who have won six or more Slams: John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Mats Wilander, Ivan Lendl, Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker.

“I just lost to a guy that’s better,” Agassi said. “There’s only so long you can deny it. He’s the best I’ve ever played against. There’s nowhere to go. There’s nothing to do except hit fairways, hit greens and make putts. Every shot has that sort of urgency on it. And if you do what you’re supposed to do, you feel like it gives you a chance to win the point. That’s just too good.”

So was Agassi, who put on an age-defying performance than will surely go down in history. He outlasted Xavier Malisse in the fourth round and in one of the most scintillating night matches ever at the Open (if not the best), he outlasted James Blake 3-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (6).

You can talk all you want about Jimmy Connors amazing run to the ‘91 US Open semis at the age of 39 and its stunning crossover impact into the mainstream, but the CBS ratings for Agassi v. Federer final were up 100 percent over last year. Moreover, Connors never faced a player with the talent level of the zoning Blake, a guy who if he has managed to hold serve at 5-4 in the fifth set, could have gone on to win the tournament. Blake has become that good now, it’s just that Agassi’ magic is still a smidgen more effective.

Few players can do what Agassi accomplished, which is to not only stop Blake’s charge after falling behind two sets and break in the third set, but in the fifth set, rip forehand returns of serve winners off 125-mph plus serves that were simply blinding. You couldn’t possibly script what happened in front of 20,000 roaring fans after 1 am on Thursday morning any better. Even Agassi, who has re-written his own script time and time again over the past 20 years, could not do it.

He could not plan that Blake would be whizzing around the court one again, serving huge ripping forehands, and clubbing backhands down the line, even when the 25-year-old looked out of it after the fourth set. He could not know that Blake would crush a forehand down the line to break him to 5-3 in the fifth and then try to serve it out, only to put trust in his own instincts again and make mince meat out of serves that would have bent Connors’ old T-2000 racket in half.

Agassi could not have foreseen that in a tense yet incredible tiebreaker, that he would miss a backhand down the line by an inch and half and that Blake would serve twice holding a 5-4 edge. He knew he had the courage to go with his shots, to stick with his game plan, but he didn’t know the balls would fall in.

But then Agassi buried an inside out forehand return winner to even the breaker at 5-5; then Blake missed a forehand winner by a hair; then on Agassi’s first match point, Blake hammered another forehand winner; then Agassi went to his now beloved drop shot and pass routine and scored; and then on the last point of the match off a second serve, Agassi turned his sore body around, hit a forehand as hard as he could and watched it blow a hole in two lines. He didn’t know how delirious with joy he would be, but the crowd knew, because they lovingly chanted his name for set after set. “I did interviews before I came here, people said, ‘It’s your 20th Open, do you have 20 minutes for you?” he said. Sure. What do you want to talk about?’

“What does the Open mean to you?” That’s what it means, what you just saw out there. There’s no place like it. It’s 1:15 in the morning, 20,000 people out there, and tennis won tonight. That happens here in New York.”

Agassi then out-hit the more muscular and faster Robby Ginepri 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to enter his sixth US Open final. It was the first time that he won three five-setters in a row, a remarkable achievement given that he’s had three cortisone shots this year to ease the pain in his back and hip, With the victory, Agassi became the oldest Grand Slam finalist since Ken Rosewall, at 39, reached the U.S. Open final in ‘74.

“How do you find words for what this means?” said Agassi. “This has been some of the greatest memories I’ve ever had on a tennis court. I’ll have these memories with me the rest of my life. To be in the finals at age 35 just means you’re going to have to put up with me a lot longer.”

Agassi won the US title in ‘94 and ‘99, but also lost three finals to his once great rival, Pete Sampras in ‘90, ‘95 and in ‘02. He knew he’d have to bring out every element to win the ‘05 title over Federer: strokes, legs, mind and heart.

Fed had survived tussles against Nicolas Kiefer, David Nalbandian and Lleyton Hewitt and was primed to zone.

But he didn’t know he’d have to be hit the stratosphere against Agassi, who he had beaten seven straight times entering the match, But the American played as well as he ever has in a loss, scorching his forehand, pounding Federer’s backhand, playing standout defense and serving and returning well. He rose to the occasion in possibly his last appearance in a Slam final, but was simply overcooked by a man who can seemingly gets better whenever the situation demands. “It doesn’t take much with him,” Agassi said. “He can break a match open, or he can get back into it right away. But I would say that normally if I play that way against anybody, I would be favoring myself.”

Federer dominated with his serve and forehand in the first set, but Agassi began a strong push at the end of it, forcing Federer to use eight set points.

Agassi played an amazing second set, and continued his ethereal level early in the third, hitting his forehand so hard and so deep that he actually was forcing the man with world’s most significant forehand to overplay.

After Agassi broke Federer to 3-2 in the third set and then held to 4-2, the sold out stadium was roaring with hope of a potential shocker. But that ‘s when the Swiss knew he had to raise his game again and of course, he did. “I wonder why I always play so well, and especially on the big occasions on center court,” Federer said. “ It just seems to click for me. When I was down 4-2 in the third, I really started to feel like my serve’s coming back. That’s the first time I felt that throughout the whole tournament. That it happened then, I was quite pleased about that.”

Federer, energized by a second wind, looked spry again and broke Agassi in the next game with a gorgeous backhand crosscourt. But it was the tiebreak the determined the match and showed just why Federer is being mentioned in the same breath with the all-time greats. After Agassi began it with a backhand drop shot winner, Fed sped straight ahead. On the fourth point with Agassi serving into the ad court, instead of chipping it back, Federer went for an outright backhand return winner down the line for the first time in the match. He leapt up, stung the ball and Agassi couldn’t even move for it. Agassi then committed two unforced errors, Federer blasted a service winner, and, on the final point of the set, he leveled another backhand return of serve winner down the line.

“He always elevates in tiebreakers,” Agassi said. “He takes his chances. I was using the kick serve effectively with the wind. I was safe for a long time out there just hitting a dumpy second serve to the backhand and getting into the point. Then at any point he can decide, ‘Well, I want to make you worry about that.’ He stayed through that ball and hit it up the line. Then the next couple points you know he’s going to step up, you have that little extra pressure to do a little more. You make a couple errors because you’re trying to play too good. And then just for good measure he did it at 6-1 in the tiebreaker. Anything that you’re trying to execute only lasts for a period of time till he makes the adjustment.”

Federer then put on a god like performance in the fourth set and blitzed Agassi from every angle. After he served the match out at love, he jumped in the air, fist pumped and bellowed. The Swiss said that it was the most special win of his six Slam crowns, given that he got to beat a legend on his home court. Now it’s he who is already a legend. Federer has won 23 finals in a row, almost double the amount of the previous record setter.

“I amaze myself that I can back it up one tournament after another, keep on playing so well,” he said. “These particular stats, final appearances and final wins, the winning percentage, in Grand Slam finals. There are records I’m proud of. I’m happy I have some records because it makes it more fun for me, not only to play against the other guys, sometimes to play against history occasionally.”

The conventional wisdom is that Federer is fast, mentally tough, is blessed with the best combo plate of strokes in history and that it takes a high-powered microscope to discover his flaws. He has six Slams now and has a ways to go before he surpasses some of the greats in the total Grand Slam list, but if you look at the pace he has set at the age of 24, he’s one major behind Wilander and Sampras in the time that it took them to win their sixth crown. It took the American and the Swede 25 attempts to win their sixth Slam, while it took Federer 26. His pace is five majors behind McEnroe, nine behind Bjorn Borg (who retired prematurely) and ahead of Connors, Lendl, Edberg and Becker.

That puts him in the hunt for Sampras’ overall mark and given that he’s a far better player on clay that Sampras ever was and will contend at the French Open for at least the next four years, Sampras’ fabulous 14 Slams record will be at risk if Federer stays in good health. “Pete was great,” Agassi said. “ But there was a place to get to with Pete, you knew what you had to do. If you did it, it could be on your terms. There’s no such place like that with Roger. I think he’s the best I’ve played against. He plays the game in a very special way. I haven’t seen it before.”