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Andre Going Out As One Of The Very Best

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  • Andre Going Out As One Of The Very Best

    ANDRE GOING OUT AS ONE OF THE VERY BEST

    Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tennessee)
    June 30, 2006 Friday

    Andre is retiring.

    Andre Agassi, along with Michael, Tiger and Brazilian soccer stars,
    is one of the rare sports figures whom people know around the world
    by their first name. All good things must end, and Andre has announced
    that this will be his last Wimbledon and he'll retire from competitive
    tennis after the U.S. Open.

    Andre is one of my personal favorites for many reasons. For one,
    he is the most charitable athlete in the world.

    He came into this year's Wimbledon only 4-4 in matches this year,
    but he's 47-12 at Wimbledon, counting two wins this week. His court
    movement is clearly restricted from the body that had him No. 1 in
    the world for 101 weeks.

    At 36, Andre has played opponents 20 years younger.

    "I feel old when I see mousse in my opponent's hair," he said at one
    postmatch news conference.

    Andre is looking more to the future than to the past or the present.

    When friend and former rival Pete Sampras and his wife had a baby,
    Andre said, "I've got a hundred bucks that says my baby beats Pete's
    baby. I just think genetics are in my favor."

    Of course, Andre is married to former Grand Slam champion Steffi Graf.

    We can't help but think of the past, however. Who could forget Andre's
    debut at the U.S. Open? His long hair resembled a lion's mane, and
    his cheetah quickness was evident. He wore fashionable denim shorts,
    and the electric New York crowd encouraged his rebel attitude.

    Sponsors pursued him and he became a walking billboard. The infamous
    "image" ad by a camera sponsor encapsulated his defiant nature.

    Ironically, Andre's toughest opponent that year was another radical
    player -- an aging one, Jimmy Connors.

    Andre, one of only a handful of players to have been in four
    consecutive Grand Slam finals, has had wrist, back and hip injuries
    that have kept him from being in premium shape. These injuries have
    limited him to mostly Slam events the past few years.

    Andre is a grinder. He loves to outlast his opponent. No one believed
    Wimbledon would be the first Grand Slam tournament he won, yet 14
    years after that championship he's back in the third round.

    An Armenian raised in Las Vegas, Andre avoided this premier tournament
    like the plague for three years. Wearing white and playing on grass
    didn't suit his personality or game, so he thought. On a lark,
    he flew to London mere days before the event with no practice on
    the hard-to-find grass courts. He banged away until he won the 1992
    Wimbledon event.

    He was nearly as adamant about traveling across the world to play
    in the Australian Open. For years he didn't believe he could win it,
    but he won it on his first visit. Four other Australian Open titles
    followed.

    Through the years, Andre has dramatically changed, for the better.

    After all, he had to grow up in the limelight. However, instead of
    merely "evolving," Andre metamorphosed into an involver.

    I will write more about Andre the week of the U.S. Open in August.

    Meanwhile, expect a great third-round match between Agassi and Rafael
    Nadal at the All England Club.
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