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Andre Agassi Retires From Tennis Following US Open
by Christopher McIntosh
09/05/2006
They couldn't stop clapping.
He couldn't stop crying.
Andre Agassi officially retired from competitive tennis Sunday morning.
Ironically enough, his last match came against a huge serving German by the name of B. Becker.
If Agassi's match against Baghdatis was beautiful and scary and thrilling, this was emblematic of the second Agassi. The family man. The man who became a tennis player who no longer had to beat you with impossible shots from impossible angles, but would wear you down with his superior endurance.
Agassi lost, but he fought and fought and fought it as long as he could.
But no one can prevent the passing of time.
And Sunday afternoon, it was time for Agassi to step aside and admit that even he ultimately, must yield. Must say enough.
Must say goodbye.
Talking heads in my position always seem to know better than the athlete himself when it's time for them to go. Leave too early and you don't truly love the game and you're cheating the fans. Leave too late and you're tarnishing your legacy.
I've always leaned on the side of leaving whenever you d*mned well pleased. If you're a legend of the game, chances are you like playing that game. And you might not want to stop when other people tell you stop or when your skills diminish or when you've somehow "gone on to long" or "become an embarrassment."
Maybe you just like playing. Isn't that why they started in the first place?
Agassi is an icon. His 21 years of tennis have traced an evolution of time and history that is unfathomable. He began in 1985 - years before Communism fell - played through both Bush administrations, saw the rise of the internet, the permanent switch from wooden to metal rackets, and ended his career on a US Open court with technology so advanced and reliable it could be used to track the spot a ball hit the court within a millimeter.
Balls hit at nearly 140 mph or more.
He began his career as a crazy haired kid whose talent was only exceeded by his refusal to conform to tennis rules and traditions. Whites at Wimbeldon? Oppressive. Think through points? Why not just hit the lines and beat your opponent instead of letting them beat themselves? Holding serve is important? Not when you've got the best return in the game, possibly the best return in history.
Athletes can't compete and have a rock star lifestyle? I've got a plane, fancy cars, and a Hollywood wife. My tennis seems to be doing okay, doesn't it?
And then it didn't. Sampras took over. Agassi was always seen as the non-serious one. His looks and game contrasted with Sampras' refusal to expose his personality so dramatically that he could only be compared with his fellow American.
But he came back. We all know the story. Dropped to 141 in the world. Looked like he was done. Washed up.
Typical rock and roller—live fast, die young, and leave a beautiful corpse.
But just like his game, he returned.
Shaved his head, worked out like a fiend, and started mixing up his play. Hauled out the cannon only when necessary. Worked points. Developed a serve that allowed him the luxury of not having to rely on breaking his opponents more than once a set.
And he came all the way back.
Stuck around for awhile, too.
Don't hear that story too often.
He's played tennis literally since before he could walk. His dad strapped ping pong paddles to his hands while in the high chair to bat balloons around. Fired balls at him for years. Sent him to tennis school. Screamed at him when he lost. Complained about not winning in three sets when he won in four.
Pushing.
Always pushing.
After the thrilling epic he wrote on Friday night, he was hurt. Hurt bad.
There's only so much cortisone you can take.
The man who pushed, who always, always pushed and never let up was interviewed about the state of his son, prior to the match.
"How is he?"
Shouldn't play, he replied.
That's how bad Agassi was. We've heard it after every match, but this time, it just seemed like too much.
Still, he couldn't stop playing.
The scoreline didn't reflect it, but this was a close match. The fourth set appeared destined for a tiebreak—prior to the eleventh game when the set was at five all, Agassi had won 20 of 22 points on his serve.
But Becker broke him. If he doesn't, again, unfathomably, Agassi looked to be favored.
Because he was in better shape. Becker was cramping up. Becker, not Agassi, couldn't go five sets. I think the reason he lost so many points on Agassi's serve was because he was so confident he could hold serve that he wanted to conserve energy and take his shot at five all or in the tiebreak.
Athletes rarely go into events knowing that this it. Sure, they announce their retirement, but no one really knows if they're out or if they'll come back. And tennis is a different sport entirely. It's single elimination.
No one really knows when it's going to end.
And no one can really be prepared for it.
People always say, whatever you do, wherever you go, leave it better off than when you got there.
The game is better for his being there.
The fans are better for his being there.
And we the onlookers, the spectators, the people who have watched and heard his story, those of us who have had the privilege of watching him play and win and lose and weaken and grow stronger and mature.
Those of us who got to watch him say goodbye.
We're all better off.
I won't stop clapping.
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