WIMBLEDON, England – Tennis players no longer get to rest after the first game of a set, yet there was Andre Agassi at Wimbledon on Thursday, sitting in his chair and sipping his drink until the chair umpire leaned over to tell him to move along.

Facing another backward-cap-wearing, twenty-something opponent on the hottest day of the tournament, the 36-year-old Agassi eliminated Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-4 to reach the third round.

“It’s been too long, as far as I’m concerned, since I’ve felt good and was in a place where I could at least enjoy what’s going on out there,” said Agassi, the oldest man to reach Wimbledon’s third round since Jimmy Connors was 38 in 1991. “That’s been my goal – to find my game so I can at least bring it.”

The No. 2-ranked Rafel Nadal lost the first two sets and twice was two points from defeat Thursday against Robert Kendrick, an American qualifier. But Nadal gutted out a 6-7 (4), 3-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5, 6-4 victory. Kendrick pounded 28 aces and played old-fashioned serve-and-volley tennis.

When he dove for a volley winner to send the third set into a tiebreaker, what seemed highly unlikely before the match suddenly seemed possible: Nadal, 4-0 against No. 1 Roger Federer this year, might lose to someone ranked 237th and not even listed in the ATP Tour guide.

Now Nadal will face a very different type of game Saturday when he plays Agassi, who loves to dictate points from the baseline.

In the first two sets against the 68th-ranked Seppi, Agassi won 12 of 19 points that lasted at least 10 strokes. He saved seven of eight break points he faced overall. And he repeatedly tracked down Seppi’s drop shots, moving well.

“Today was a great sign for me,” said Agassi, who played eight matches in 2006 because of ankle and back injuries before coming to Wimbledon.

The victory was Agassi’s 222nd in Grand Slam play, tying him with Ivan Lendl for second in the Open era behind Connors’ 233. He announced last weekend he’ll quit after the U.S. Open.

Nadal, as always, betrayed not a shred of fatigue as they played more than 3 1/2 hours, sprinting to his chair at changeovers and pumping a fist after nearly every point he won, including when Kendrick double-faulted to get broken to 6-5 in the fourth set and 3-2 in the fifth. After a passing winner put him up 5-1 in the third-set tiebreaker, Nadal dropped to his knees – like Bjorn Borg used to when he’d win the championship.

“Nadal finds a way to win,” said Nick Bollettieri, who’s coached several tennis stars.