New York ? Andre Agassi stood 11 inches shorter than 6-foot-10 Croatian Ivo Karlovic, spun serves about 50 mph slower, and logged far fewer miles on court.

The ace count went to Karlovic, 30-5, as he clocked serves consistently in the 130-142 mph range, but the second-round victory at the U.S. Open on Thursday went to Agassi, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4).

At 35, nine years older than the gangling giant across the net, Agassi came up bigger on the big points to continue his run for one more Grand Slam title in his 20th visit to the Open. His wife, Steffi Graf, and 3-year-old son, Jaden, watched at courtside.

“Listen to that,” Agassi said as the standing crowd in Arthur Ashe Stadium cheered his victory. “How does that get old? Thanks guys.”

Agassi, seeded No. 7, couldn’t equal Karlovic’s power and didn’t care. Rather, he settled for cleverness and steadiness, taking advantage of the Croatian’s weak backhand and awkward lateral movement. No one on the tour liked to play against the No. 56-ranked Karlovic, Agassi had said before playing him for the first time, because his serves came down from an unfamiliar trajectory, as if fired from a roof. Agassi felt the same way after winning.

No. 13 Richard Gasquet advanced when Giorgio Galimberti retired in the fourth set because of an injury. Sebastien Grosjean beat No. 14 Thomas Johansson, 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, and No. 19 Tommy Robredo knocked out former French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten, 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-2.

In women’s matches, No. 2 Lindsay Davenport, No. 3 Amelie Mauresmo, No. 6 Elena Dementieva, No. 7 Justine Henin-Hardenne, No. 12 Mary Pierce, No. 13 Anastasia Myskina, No. 15 Nathalie Dechy, No. 17 Jelena Jankovic, No. 19 Elena Likhovtseva, No. 23 Tatiana Golovin and No. 24 Shinobu Asagoe all won in straight sets.