Andre Agassi retires after US Open loss

[sisca]

Just wanted to start a thread in honor of Andre Agassi, one of the greatest tennis players ever. Sad to see him retire, but he had a great run over the past 20 or so years.




Agassi's career comes to a close with U.S. Open loss

By BEN WALKER, AP National Writer
September 3, 2006


NEW YORK (AP) -- Andre Agassi walked off the court the way he wanted, to a champion's ovation.

In the end, despite all the tears, it hardly made a difference to him or his fans that he didn't win.

A career for the ages came to a close Sunday with Agassi worn down and wincing, losing to 112th-ranked Benjamin Becker 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-5 in the third round at the U.S. Open.

Betrayed by a creaky body that needed four injections this week, his spirit never waned. And that is something Agassi and his fans will always remember.

"For me, it was never about winning and stopping," he said. "It was about getting the most out of myself for as long as possible," he said.



Agassi announced this summer that the Open would be his final event. It seemed unimaginable that he could win seven matches to take the title, but after two inspiring victories, fans began to hope and wonder.

Instead, the end came with Agassi looking like what he'd become -- a 36-year-old man with a bad back, ready for retirement.

"I just credit the doctors that I was able to play out there today," he said. "I didn't expect a whole lot physically. And sure enough, it was real early when I wasn't feeling so good."

The 25-year-old Becker started strong, showing few nerves, and closed out the match with a 133 mph ace.

Moments later, Agassi teared up on the blue court as he addressed a crowd that showed up early at Arthur Ashe Stadium and tried to spur him all afternoon.

"The scoreboard said I lost today," he said. "But what the scoreboard doesn't say is what it is I've found."

Becker, who had to win three qualifying matches merely to make it into the Open, applauded as Agassi spoke. Agassi's wife, Steffi Graf, and their two young children looked on.

"He was my idol growing up," Becker said.

He joined the crowd for a four-minute, loud standing ovation saluting Agassi, who stared out at the crowd from his chair, wiping tears from his eyes.

Agassi was greeted by another big cheer from fellow players when he walked into the locker room. Toward the end of that tribute, Becker entered.

"It was awkward, me walking in," he said. "You feel bad, too. I couldn't really be happy."

While most were focused on the Agassi-Becker match, Marat Safin -- the 2000 U.S. Open champion who's unseeded this year -- knocked off fourth-seeded David Nalbandian 6-3, 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 7-6 (6) in a second-round match originally scheduled for Friday but pushed back by rain.

In third-round action, 1998 Open champion Lindsay Davenport erased two match points and came back to defeat Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5).

Andre, you da man!

[fast98dodge]

What a great career...

Tennis won't be the same without him...

[Raldo]

Thank you Andre for the over 2 decades of tennis!!!

I'm a year younger than him so I was able to follow his career. A definite loss for the tennis world.

[wombattt]

I've seen him play about ten times. He hit the ball so hard, much harder than it looks on T.V.

[KT]

Ohhh...sisca, thanks for starting this thread. You know how much I love this guy. I've been bummed all day thinking about Agassi's retirement. He was one of my idols growing up, as I started playing tennis at the age of 4 (it was my LIFE for about 20 yrs.). He influenced the lives of many of the guys I grew up playing tennis with...and he was sucha class act.

The world of tennis lost a great one today!

[wham bam will rock]

Been following Andre's career since '86.

Gonna be strange not seeing him on the tennis tour.

One of the great personalities in ANY sport.

One of the best ever. Made everybody play better.

[Spool]

Great great player

AWESOME person

[vh_chick]

Andre ROCKS!!! My HS tennis team saw him (back when he still had the long hair) at an exhibition match against Jimmy Connors! How cool is that? We cheered like mad for Andre!

Enjoy your retirement, my man!

Shari

[Texas Poundcake]

He was my first crush....... I will miss seeing him on the court.