04/20/24
June 24, 2006
Andre Agassi finally calls it a career:: The only active player to have won all four Grand Slam tournaments (and one of only 5 all time) is going to hang it up after this year's US Open. After twenty years on the tour, he grew up in public in a way that few do, and his legacy to the game is considerable.
posted by chicobangs to tennis at 11:28 PM - 18 comments
....and I suspect that, like Connors, he'll have a comeback at some point following his retirement. Perhaps, in his late 30s... Oh, wait, he is in his late 30s, and he's already done the comeback thing. I'm sure that he'll have plenty to keep himself busy with...he's quite the businessman. I wish him the best of luck, whatever he does next!
posted by slackerman at 01:42 AM on June 25, 2006
I'll always remember Agassi's long hair when he started, and the cleanly-shaven head he sported later on. Agassi was one of the reasons I still paid close attention to the major tournaments. If he was making a run in the U.S. Open, you could count on a great deal of excitement. He'll be missed by the game. You couldn't really create better tennis bloodlines than Andre and Steffi.
posted by dyams at 06:49 AM on June 25, 2006
With all his philanthropic works and natural charisma, Andre has been the game's greatest ambassador sice Arthur Ashe. He will be sorely missed. Few players can match the sort of year he had in 1999 (except maybe Johnny Mac in 1984 and his wife in any number of years), when he won the AO, RG and the US Open, and lost to Sampras in the Wimbledon Final. That was one for the ages.
posted by psmealey at 07:47 AM on June 25, 2006
Yeah, but he is gonna play in the Open this year...hmmmmmm, anniversary SpoFi meetup, anyone???
posted by lil_brown_bat at 08:24 AM on June 25, 2006
This made me sad. From the NYT... Nadal said he had no recollection of Agassi's victory [at Wimbeldon] in 1992. He was, afterall, only 6 at the time. Agassi's memory serves very well though. "I imagine it's that way when your child goes off to college," he said. "You say, what the heck happened in all these years? It feels like yesterday for me, as vivid, as alive as ever." For me too.
posted by SummersEve at 09:15 AM on June 25, 2006
He was, and will always be, my favorite tennis player. He had ridiculous ups and downs - I remember when he plummeted to the mid 100s in rankings - and his legacy is so much in the numbers, and outside of the numbers. I just can't think of what I really want to say, other than he was the object of my tennis hero worship, and I think I chose well.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 10:20 AM on June 25, 2006
I've only read about/seen older footage of players like Ashe, Borg, McEnroe, and Connors. I really only followed (men's) tennis casually when Wilander/Becker/Edberg had successful runs. But it was the Agassi/Sampras rivalry that made me more than a casual observer. Straight-laced Pete Sampras vs. expressive Andre Agassi made for great tennis. From the long hair (remember the EOS Rebel/image is everything ads?) to the shaved head and the "immaturity" to the "maturity" Agassi is my second-favorite men's tennis player (behind McEnroe) of all time. Andre winning the U.S. Open before retiring would make for a storybook ending to a GREAT career. Best of luck to Andre--if he and Steffi have any kids who grow up to play tennis, then many titles could be added to their family (they'd certainly have the right genes.)
posted by curtangle at 11:00 AM on June 25, 2006
curtangle , They already started haveing children. [youtube]
posted by Folkways at 12:59 PM on June 25, 2006
Thanks for the vid Folkways. I knew Andre and Steffi already had a kid (I'd forgotten the kid's name); but Dominic may not want to play tennis when he's older. If he does, though, then major titles may be in his future. LOL-he already plays tennis better than I do/have.
posted by curtangle at 04:12 PM on June 25, 2006
Andre winning the U.S. Open before retiring would make for a storybook ending to a GREAT career. Someone's going to have to throw a sabot into the works of a certain little Swiss cuckoo clock in order for that to happen.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 04:25 PM on June 25, 2006
Someone's going to have to throw a sabot into the works of a certain little Swiss cuckoo clock in order for that to happen. LOL--Yeah I can't see Federer losing to Agassi. *throws sabot* *clogs clock*
posted by curtangle at 04:45 PM on June 25, 2006
Andre win? Hey, stranger things have happened...but I sure can't think of one at the moment.
posted by ctal1999 at 04:57 PM on June 26, 2006
Andre win? Hey, stranger things have happened...but I sure can't think of one at the moment. Stretch your mind a bit and I'm sure you can think of several. Andy Roddick winning, for example.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 07:30 PM on June 26, 2006
Hell, just somebody besides Federer winning is a bit of a stretch at this point.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 08:18 PM on June 26, 2006
He invented the return ace. Nobody returned like Andre. And he wore pink at Wimbeldon, neon pink no less. And the consistent ground strokes. Oh baby. He could move his opponent around so well, it really was a priviledge to watch him in form.
posted by garfield at 10:17 AM on June 27, 2006
I agree, garfield, he was never overpowered by his often big-serving opponents when at his best, and always a joy to watch. And, if "Image is everything", he has certainly done well in that regard.
posted by mjkredliner at 11:17 AM on June 28, 2006
Next up: Rafael Nadal--good luck Andre!
posted by curtangle at 10:19 PM on June 29, 2006
He (and Pete Sampras) largely carried the sport between the McEnroe-Connors era and the Federer-Nadal eras, and oh yeah, he was the highlight of the best SpoFi meetup ever, and the best tennis match I suspect I'll ever see in person.