f agassi, i'm rooting for blake...

After keeping track of Blake's back-to-back upsets of second-seeded Rafael Nadal and No. 19 Tommy Robredo, Wilander, the 1988 United States Open champion from Sweden, offered a bold observation. He said of tonight's all-American United States Open quarterfinal between Blake, a 25-year-old making the most of his U.S.T.A.-issued wild card, and Andre Agassi, a five-time Open finalist and two-time champion:

"I would say on paper that James Blake is a clear favorite against Andre Agassi."

Wilander was speaking by telephone Monday night from Idaho, where he has a home. He was quick to add that Agassi's 20 years of experience in the Open and his eight successful championship runs in majors were intangibles that, like Arthur Ashe Stadium's swirling winds, would no doubt come into play.

Agassi, 35, has won three of four meetings against Blake, but he may have a harder time picking apart Blake's backhand tonight. After enduring a broken neck, the death of his father and a stress-induced case of shingles, all in a five-week span last year, Blake brings to the tennis court a calmness and clarity of purpose that is not easily punctured by another man's ground strokes.