Agassi bids final farewell to professional tennis

Jer Isseks Sports Editor

On Sunday, Sept. 3, professional tennis player Andre Agassi ended his career with a loss. It happened at the 2006 U.S. Open, in a match against a young German unknown named Benjamain Becker. Some, upon hearing this, shrugged and moved on. The end of Agassi may be the formal conclusion to an era in tennis, paving the way for the great Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and company to finally fully claim the tennis spotlight. Some refuse to let go of their deified image of Agassi, retirement or not, feeling strongly that Agassi was one of the most vibrant personalities in professional tennis.

Seeing a slower, more desperate Agassi on the hard courts of Arthur Ashe Stadium in nearby Queens, NY brings to mind a younger, more visually stimulating player of over a decade ago. Back then he was lightning-quick and resilient on the court, but had the same distinct flare and charisma he carries today. Whether Agassi wore bright purple with long, flowing hair and an earring, or a more reverent all-white outfit with a completely bald scalp, he has sported a game that all spectators love watching and all opponents hate facing.

Put yourself in tennis legend Pete Sampras’ shoes at the 1995 Australian Open final. Your juggernaut serve and towering, gangly presence up at the net seem almost useless against Agassi. He returns everything you hit at him with wild urgency, running you into corners on each shot, leaving you gasping for breath. Sometimes you falter and give Andre a sure winner, but instead of finishing you off, he cruelly hits it to the far corner (but still within your reach), forcing you to run even more in a futile attempt to regain momentum.

Agassi’s vicious, urgent style of play earned him the nickname of “The Punisher,” but the average fan at his or her living room television set these days would never know it. All viewers see are his soft smile at the end of each match and his blown kisses to the crowd.

Backtrack to over a decade ago, when Agassi was still making a name for himself. Agassi underwent wrist surgery in 1993, but came back to stun the world by becoming the first unseeded player to win the U.S. Open in 1994, defeating Michael Stich.

After reaching the top of the world rankings in 1995, his career dropped off and faded by 1997, only to be revamped by rigorous training in 1998. He came back from two sets down to defeat Andrei Medvedev in the 1999 French Open final, and then erased a two-sets-to-one deficit in the same year’s U.S. Open final against Todd Martin. In 2001, Agassi lost to Sampras in a U.S. Open match that remarkably featured not one break of serve by either player.

Agassi’s history with Sampras is more storied than perhaps any other in tennis history, but only slightly fiercer than his rivalry with Australian Patrick Rafter. His five-set loss to Rafter at the 2000 Wimbledon Championships is considered one of the greatest matches ever played, pitting Agassi’s breathtaking baseline game against Rafter’s powerful and agile volleying tactics.

The next year, Agassi avenged the loss in front of Rafter’s homeland crowd at the Australian Open, outlasting Rafter in five sets, then lost at Wimbledon to Rafter in a five-set match that actually broke the standard set by their thrilling final the year before.

The final stages of Agassi’s career are marked by grueling five-setters with up-and-coming heavyweight Federer; a remarkable 2005 U.S. Open run that included three straight five-set victories, a come-from-behind triumph over fellow American James Blake that was called the best match of the tournament; an epic five-set battle with then-unknown Robby Ginepri; and a dramatic four-set loss to Federer in the final.

After an emotional comeback win over Andrei Pavel and a most unlikely five-set victory over eighth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis in the 2006 U.S. Open, Agassi seemed to be in the midst of a dream run at the championship. But a youthful and hard-serving Becker proved to be too much for Agassi to handle, and after the 25-year-old German delivered his final ace to conclude the fourth set and the match, Agassi bid the Flushing Meadows crowd a tearful goodbye and packed up his racquet for good. Agassi, the rebel, “The Punisher,” and most recently, the teary-eyed old man, has given the world of professional tennis more character than arguably anyone else to toe the service line.