11/05/24
June 15, 2004
Agassi pulls out of Wimbledon. : Andre Agassi pulled out of Wimbledon on Tuesday with a hip injury, leaving the tournament without one of the world's most popular players.
As I recall it, he had three modes: (1) silent and focused, (2) irritated and whiny or (3) exploding at all of the officials on and off the court. From the standpoint of getting the crowd behind him, none of these were particularly engaging... a lot of the time it was just painful to watch.
posted by psmealey at 10:30 AM on June 15, 2004
Well, I think that's kind of his point. You can't argue that McEnroe didn't project a distinct personality both on and off the court. He was (and remains) as much character as athlete and it's hard to say the same about most of the top-rated tennis players today. Now, on the other hand, you certainly don't want tennis to turn into pro-wrestling, but I think that it's easier to market players in a solo sport if the fans know a little bit more about the participants.
posted by Jugwine at 10:52 AM on June 15, 2004
I totally agree with both you and Johnny Mac, Jugwine... I just think it's ironic that he has such a problem with today's players, when he was so clearly ill at ease with himself when he was in his playing days. Passion yes... absolutely... but there was always a little moment where you were cringing inside hoping he could rein his temper back in. I also remember people always complaining about Borg and lionizing Connors, back in those days. To each his own, but I remember Borg doing a fair bit of clowning when the moment required it, and conversely I though Connors's fist-pumping, groin-thrusting dance that everyone seemed to love was disrespectful to his opponents. If I had been Lendl playing against him, I'd have gladly drilled one into his chest every chance I got. That said, it would definitely be better to see a bit more personality these days. That's kind of what I liked about watching Gaston Gaudio win the French this year. He just seemed to be having a blast out there, it was infectious.
posted by psmealey at 12:36 PM on June 15, 2004
Tough break for Andre. I wonder if he's still got one more run left in him, but we'll have to wait for the US Open to find out. In other tennis news, McEnroe calls current crop of players robots. Interesting criticism from Johnny Mac. I definitely like what he's turned into as an elder statesmen, but I don't remember him being particularly charismatic or one to interact with the crowd in his playing days... other than to bitch about people talking, standing, taking pictures or otherwise enjoying themselves.