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Gallant Agassi bids farewell

A bad back and hard-serving qualifier Benjamin Becker add up to a career-ending loss for the 36-year-old.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published September 4, 2006

	[Getty Images]
	Emotions overcome Andre Agassi as his career ends. "You have pulled for me on the court and also in life," Agassi told fans afterward.

NEW YORK - Crouched alone in the silence of the locker room, a pro tennis player no more, a red-eyed Andre Agassi twisted his torso in an attempt to conquer the seemingly mundane task of pulling a white shirt over his head.

Never more than at that moment did Agassi seem so vulnerable, looking far older than his 36 years, wrestling not simply with his bad back but also with two overwhelming and conflicting emotions.

There was the concrete sense of departure, of knowing his career came to an end Sunday with a 7-5, 6-7 (4-6), 6-4, 7-5 loss to 112th-ranked qualifier Benjamin Becker in the third round at the U.S. Open.

And there was the freeing sense of excitement, of knowing he has more time to devote to his wife, Steffi Graf, and their two children; of knowing there are no more flights, no more practice sessions, no more injections to dull the searing pain of an irritated sciatic nerve.

That's why, for Agassi and the 20,000 or so who honored him with a raucous, four-minute standing ovation in Arthur Ashe Stadium after the match, it did not matter much what Sunday's outcome was.

This day and this tournament were all about saying goodbye to an eight-time Grand Slam champion who grew up in front of the world, from cocky kid with the shoulder-length hair and denim shorts to the thoughtful guy with the shaved pate and proper tennis whites.

"The scoreboard said I lost today, but what the scoreboard doesn't say is what it is I've found," Agassi told the crowd, tears streaming down his cheeks, his voice cracking.

Agassi got a cortisone injection after beating Andre Pavel in 3½ hours, then received three anti-inflammatory shots in the days after beating No. 8 seed Marcos Baghdatis in an even longer encounter.

The last injection came Sunday, before facing Becker, a German who won the 2004 NCAA singles title for Baylor.

Talk about bookends: Agassi played the first of his record 61 Grand Slam tournaments at the U.S. Open in 1986, losing to Jeremy Bates, ranked outside the top 100 at the time. Since then, Agassi was 24-0 at the Open against men rated that low - until Sunday.

But Agassi couldn't conjure up any more magic in his 21st consecutive Open, an event he won in 1994 and 1999. His back - and Becker - wouldn't let him. Over and over, Agassi pulled up short. He winced after serves, clutched his lower back after stretching to reach for shots.

"I wanted to run on the court and pull him off," said Agassi's trainer, Gil Reyes, "because it shouldn't hurt - it shouldn't hurt that bad."

There were times, as his limp grew more pronounced, when it seemed Agassi wouldn't be able to finish; his father had said he hoped Agassi wouldn't try to play, and he didn't attend.

"If I wanted to quit," Agassi said, "I would have done that a long time ago. I didn't come here to quit. ... I just credit the doctors that I was able to get out there today."

Becker, who is not related to German great Boris Becker, served like "Boom Boom," pounding 27 aces at up to 143 mph, the last on match point. He won 13 consecutive service points in one stretch.

He was steady when he had to be, including saving four break points in the match's third game. When the biggest match of his career finished, Becker joined the crowd in standing and applauding for Agassi.

"It was a tough moment, an emotional moment for me, too," Becker said. "I was happy, obviously. At the same time, I was sad."

The fans applauded Becker's faults, a tennis faux pas. They broke into clap-clap-clap choruses of "Let's go, Andre!" at changeovers.

"You can't be that loud," said Becker, more accustomed to facing hostile crowds of about 200 at college matches.

Andy Roddick, who faces Becker next, sounded almost relieved at not having to face Agassi.

"If I would have won, then I probably would have broken down," Roddick said. "And if I would have lost, I would have probably broken down."

"It felt amazing. Nothing I've ever experienced before. I was overwhelmed with how (fans) embraced me at the end," Agassi said.

Agassi leaves with 60 singles titles, including a career Grand Slam, one of only five men to have won each of the sport's premier events.

After Agassi shared a private moment with Graf and their children, he entered the locker room to another standing ovation, this one from his fellow players.

Agassi wondered what his children Jaden, 4, and Jaz, 2, would think of their father sobbing on the court.

"My first goal is to explain to them why I was crying," Agassi said. "It was pretty upsetting to them to see me cry because I suppose they don't realize that dads do that."

[Last modified September 4, 2006, 05:37:50]