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), 6-4, 7-5 loss to 112th-ranked Benjamin Becker in the third round at the U.S. Open.
And there was the liberating 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 to catch, 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 fans who honored him with a raucous, four-minute standing ovation in Arthur Ashe Stadium after the match, it truly did not matter all that 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 with emotion. “Over the last 21 years, I’ve found loyalty. You have pulled for me on the court and also in life. I have found inspiration. You have willed me to succeed sometimes even in my lowest moments.”
He could have been referring to his losses in his first three major finals, two at the French Open and one at the U.S. Open, setbacks that made him wonder if he’d ever reach the top. Or, more likely, when, having won Wimbledon and reached No. 1, he sank to 141st in the rankings and resorted to playing in tennis’ minor leagues in 1997. Or, most recently, when his back hurt so badly after the first two rounds of this U.S. Open, the tournament he announced this summer would be his last.
Talk about matching bookends: Agassi played the first of his record 61 Grand Slam tournaments at the U.S. Open in 1986, losing to Jeremy Bates, who was ranked outside the top 100 at the time. Since, 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 would pull up short, watching a ball fly by instead of chasing it. 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.”
Not only is Benjamin Becker not related to Boris Becker, they’ve never even met. Yet the B. Becker that Agassi faced Sunday sure did serve like “Boom Boom,” pounding 27 aces at up to 143 mph, the last on match point. He won 13 consecutive points on his serve during one stretch. This was only the second major of Becker’s career. He never had even won a tour-level match anywhere until June.
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.”
Now he’ll get another taste of partisan support: Becker’s fourth-round opponent is 2003 U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick, who edged No. 22 Fernando Verdasco 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-2.
“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.”
In other action, Serena Williams won her second consecutive match against a seeded player, beating No. 16 Ana Ivanovic 6-2, 6-4 and two-time defending champion Roger Federer easily dismissed Vince Spadea 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 and next meets Marc Gicquel, who eliminated 2004 French Open champion Gaston Gaudio 6-0, 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (3).
Also, the top-seeded American, No. 5 James Blake, erased four set points in the second-set tiebreaker and beat 1998 French Open champion Carlos Moya 6-4, 7-6 (6), 2-6, 6-3; and Marat Safin, the 2000 Open winner but unseeded this year after some injuries, edged No. 4 David Nalbandian in a fifth-set tiebreaker.
Lindsay Davenport, the 1998 Open champion, saved two match points before getting past No. 22 Katarina Srebotnik; and Li Na of China upset 2005 runner-up Mary Pierce, advancing to a fourth-round match against Maria Sharapova. Other winners included 2001 U.S. Open champion Lleyton Hewitt, No. 17 Andy Murray and No. 2 Rafael Nadal.
