NEW YORK, Sept 11: The longed-for showdown between Roger Federer, the world number one, and Andre Agassi, the old stager playing possibly for the last time at Flushing Meadows, will come to pass in the US Open men’s singles final.

Semifinal opponents Robby Ginepri and Lleyton Hewitt did their best to thwart them on Super Saturday but, as suspected, their fate was to play no more than supporting roles in a much bigger drama.

At 35, Agassi became the oldest man to reach a Grand Slam final since Australian Ken Rosewall in 1974 when he outlasted unseeded US compatriot Ginepri 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

Sunday will be the 1994 and 1999 champion’s sixth US Open final and his first Grand Slam final since he won the last of his eight Grand Slams at the 2003 Australian Open.

Defending champion and top seed Federer was extended for three hours by third seed Hewitt but still stretched his run of consecutive victories over the Australian to nine by winning their semifinal 6-3, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3.

The triple Wimbledon champion’s victory meant he matched Pete Sampras’s professional era record of 34 consecutive hardcourt wins.

A sense of destiny has accompanied seventh seed Agassi through the tournament ever since 2003 champion Andy Roddick was removed from his half of the draw in the first round, quickly followed by Spanish second seed Rafael Nadal.

It was confirmed with his classic five-set quarterfinal win over another compatriot, James Blake, when Agassi won a breathless tiebreak decider having recovered from two sets and a break down.

On Saturday the first four sets against Ginepri were relatively ordinary but in the fifth Agassi lifted his game to a level too high for his 22-year-opponent, who was playing his first Grand Slam semifinal.

The deftest of drop shots secured the decisive break for 4-2 and Agassi then reeled off a barrage of aces, the last of which sealed an ultimately convincing victory.

In a tournament laden with five-set thrillers, six of the last seven contests in the bottom half of the draw have gone the full distance.

Federer, as usual, has stood serene amid the mayhem, dropping only two sets en route to the final.

Hewitt is heartily sick of the Swiss, having been thrashed in last year’s final by him and knocked out of Wimbledon this year and last by the world number one.

The Australian, who won his first Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows in 2001, played outstanding tennis to earn five sets points in the second set but Federer saved them all. Then, almost cruelly, the Swiss humiliated the Australian 7-0 in the tiebreak with one stupendous winner after another.

Hewitt would not give in, though, and took the third set after breaking for 4-3 with a well-placed lob. It ended his run of losing 17 consecutive sets against Federer.

Saturday’s results:

Men’s singles:

Semifinals: 1-Roger Federer (Switzerland) bt 3-Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) 6-3, 7-6 (7-0), 4-6, 6-3; 7-Andre Agassi (US) bt Robby Ginepri (US) 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.—Reuters