Today is a monumental day in tennis history. Andre Agassi lost today in the 3rd round of the U.S. Open and retired. He announced earlier this summer that the U.S. Open would be the last and final professional tournament of his career. Even with a bad back, he played on, beating Andrei Pavel in 4 sets, outlasting #8 Marcos Baghdatis in an unforgettable 5-set night match that lasted nearly 4 hours. Today, his back and young Benjamin Becker got the best of him. But, Agassi went out a winner – both on and off the court.
I cannot write a column any better than Barry Lorge who wrote about the “Evolution and appreciation of Agassi,” for espn.com.
But, I can say, I remember when I was about 10 years old and my dad took me and my brother (both avid tennis players and fans) to see Andre Agassi play at the Lipton tournament in Key Biscayne, FL. I can’t remember the exact year, but it was around when I was 10 years old. Agassi was the young, colorful player, wearing his famous flashy Nike outfits (you remember, those pink and black outfits). He also had the long hair and was the “rebel” of the tennis world. His matches were always exciting. Sure, he had some tantrums now and then, but they were fun to watch. His match ended up going five sets, and we left early since it was a school night. We read about how he lost to Aaron Krickstein that night, apparently the result of some cramping. Turns out, now at age 36, he was outlasting the young 21-year old Baghdatis, who was cramping up during the end of the 5th set.
I also remember watching Agassi play live while I attended the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta. I kept taking video of his then-fiance/wife Brooke Shields who was sitting courtside during the match. Those were the glitz and glamour days for ol’ Andre.
Over time, Agassi has changed. He lost some hair, then he he lost all his hair, and he grew more mature. And then married a perhaps even bigger tennis champion, Steffi Graf. He is now more emotional and more humble. Some people never grow up, but Agassi did, right before our eyes. He also became one of only 5 men to ever win all four Grand Slams during his career. Today, he walked out of the sport he gave his life to. He walked out a champion on the court and perhaps a bigger champion off the court. 