New York ? Forget for a moment that Taylor Dent faced a match point against No. 15-seeded Fernando Gonzalez. Or that Dent had to overcome two significant trends in his career: never having won a five-set match or reached the fourth round at a major.

Dent managed to win, thanks in large part to 26 aces and top-notch volleying, turning in the only upset of a seeded player Saturday at the U.S. Open.

And yet it was about the most matter-of-fact happening on a wet and wacky day at the National Tennis Center. The total daily attendance was a record 57,115, and everywhere those fans went, something odd seemed to ensue:

• Jennifer Capriati complained about the blimp hanging over Arthur Ashe Stadium.
• After 41/2 hours of action, Jonas Bjorkman had to wait out a three-hour rain delay to play one point and finish his victory.
• After a set and a game, Andre Agassi’s match against Yevgeny Kafelnikov was put off for about 24 hours.
• French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne’s match was moved to tiny Court 11 when the Grandstand was deemed unusable because an air blower leaked oil while drying rainwater.
• Ivan Ljubicic held a news conference just to discuss his comments at a news conference the night before, when he criticized Andy Roddick’s on-court behavior.


Andre Agassi sits courtside as rain falls during his match against Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Agassi's match was postponed Saturday in New York and will be made up today.

Capriati thought the blimp was closer to the court than normal, and found the noise distracting. Still, the three-time major champion persevered, eventually found a comfort zone and pounded out a 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 victory over Emilie Loit to reach the round of 16.

Agassi was leading Kafelnikov 6-3, 0-1 when their match was stopped. After about an hour’s rain delay, they came out and played a single point before the rain returned. They didn’t resume again because it would have delayed the start of the night session; they’ll continue today. The winner will face the unseeded Dent, who beat Chile’s Gonzalez 7-6 (9), 6-7 (3), 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4. The 22-year-old son of former Top 20 player Phil Dent won points on 111 of 170 trips to the net.

Another young American, Robby Ginepri, was ousted by 33-year-old Todd Martin 6-7 (2), 7-6 (4), 6-4, 6-4. Martin, the 1999 runner-up, next plays French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero.