Federer surges past Agassi to win U.S. Open

Andre Agassi has battled the champions of three eras -- Pete Sampras, Boris Becker, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl -- and now he puts Roger Federer above them all. ``He's the best I've ever played against,'' Agassi said after falling to Federer 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-1 Sunday in the U.S. Open final. ``Pete was great. No question. But there was a place to get to with Pete. You knew what you had to do. If you do it, it could be on your terms. There's no such place like that with Roger. ``He plays the game in a very special way that I haven't seen before.' [AP Photo/Elise Amendola]