Another Andre Giant-Killing

Add the bones of Andre Agassi to the heap claimed by that notorious site of Wimbledon upsets, Court 2--respectfully known as the Graveyard.

That was certainly an operative image on Monday for Agassi, a former Wimbledon champion seeded No. 3. Agassi was victimized by, in ascending order: the most dangerous court at the All England Club, an eager qualifier and his own messy and tumultuous life that seems to have relegated tennis to a secondary position, if that. At this point in this bleak season, Agassi’s career has skid marks all over it.

What to say about a player of Agassi’s caliber losing to Doug Flach, a man ranked No. 281 fresh off the satellite tour, who barely made it out of qualifying to get into the main draw at the world’s most important tennis tournament?

Let Flach say it: “I’m as excited as you possibly could get.”

Flach, a doubles specialist better known, until Monday, for being the younger brother of Ken Flach, dispatched Agassi, 2-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-4, 7-6 (8-6), in 2 hours 32 minutes in front of a crowd sardined into the remote and cramped court.

Agassi was not alone in his misery. Opening day at Wimbledon devastated the men’s field: Three of the top eight seeded players--all Americans--and four of the top 15 lost. Eliminated in addition to Agassi were No. 6 Michael Chang, No. 8 Jim Courier and No. 15 Arnaud Boetsch.

Agassi’s season is in tatters and there’s no easy explanation. Usually an injury can be blamed--his brother Philip said Agassi contracted a chest infection during his week in London, but it’s difficult to believe a player who last year continually vomited into a flower pot because of the heat during a match in Washington, D.C., would allow a chest cold to knock him out of Wimbledon. It’s only the second time in his 12-year career that Agassi has lost to a qualifier.

With respect to Flach, who served 22 aces and kept his head above water while clearly out of his depth, Agassi is on a losing streak . . . to himself. His season began hopefully at the Australian Open, which Agassi won in 1995. He inexplicably crumbled against Chang in the semifinal, a match in which Agassi was accused of not giving a full effort.

The same can be said of his loss to Chang in the quarterfinals at Indian Wells. After that match Agassi skipped the mandatory news conference and boarded his private jet, returned to Las Vegas and attended the Mike Tyson-Frank Bruno heavyweight fight. Some suggested Agassi was less interested in tennis than in the star-studded title fight.

Agassi, who won seven titles in 1995, has won only one this year. That came at the Lipton at Key Biscayne, Fla., when his opponent in the final, Goran Ivanisevic, retired because of a neck injury after only three games.

The year has been one disappointment after another. Agassi, 25, arrived at the French Open visibly out of shape and verbally out of sorts. He swore his way through his opening match against Jacobo Diaz and lost to Chris Woodruff, a qualifier, in the second round.

Agassi declined to meet with reporters after the match--a professional lapse for which he was fined--got into a waiting car and drove off. Agassi was AWOL for four days before he contacted Philip and his management team in Las Vegas.

Asked directly Monday about his fitness and interest in the game, Agassi was oblique in his answers. He was subdued and teary-eyed and not in an emotional place for extended analysis of his professional career. “I certainly haven’t been playing well,” Agassi said, shaking his head. “I started getting my game together at Key Biscayne, but the clay season kind of threw a wrench into it. The disappointment [of losing at the French] kept me from really attacking the needs of my game.

“It’s certainly frustrating when your game is not anywhere near your [best] level. In the big picture, I can’t really make a comment, because I’m trying to get myself at the top of my game again.”

Some have speculated that Agassi’s engagement earlier this year to Brooke Shields has distracted him, but Agassi has credited the relationship with centering him and helping his game.

There’s little secret on the tour about Agassi’s decline when even a player like Flach, who has no locker room confidences, has heard the word.

“I didn’t get to see him at the French Open,” Flach said. “I heard he was kind of lackluster. Everybody was telling me he’s not as focused, he’s not as sharp, blah, blah, but I expected him to come out today and be really focused and try to kill me. So I was a little surprised that he wasn’t as sharp as he usually is.”

Court 2 can do that to you. The Graveyard has claimed a host of impressive victims, including Arthur Ashe, Ilie Nastase, Michael Stich, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and Courier, all losing to vastly lower-ranked players.

“It’s definitely a tough court to play on,” Agassi said. “From one side of the court you can’t see one line, then from the right of the umpire you can’t make out the line on the other side. So that’s a bit difficult.”

Difficult too because of the crowd’s din. The intimacy of Court 2 puts the players closer to fans, who, unchastened by the grandeur of Centre Court, tend to be boisterous. They were loud Monday, delighted to have drawn a player of Agassi’s star power with such a budget ticket.

Few among them would have expected Flach, 25, to outplay Agassi through two tiebreakers and on most of the important points.

Flach began the year at No. 600 and only by winning two satellite tournaments did he raise his ranking enough to earn the right to get into qualifying here. Flach had played at Wimbledon only once before, in 1994, making it into the main draw from qualifying as a lucky loser. He lost in the first round.

Flach--playing across the net from a multimillionaire--had earned $2,205 this season in prize money. Flach’s payday for getting past the first round was $14,000 in his first event on the ATP Tour this season.

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Agassi’s Agony

1995 Highlights

* Match record: 73-9.

* Ranking: No. 1 for the first time. Ended year at No. 2.

* Prize money: $2,975,738

* Grand Slam events: Australian Open winner; French Open quarterfinalist; Wimbledon semifinalist; U.S. Open runner-up.

* Tour Titles Won: San Jose; Key Biscayne, Fla.; Washington; Montreal; Cincinnati; New Haven, Conn.

* Finalist: Indian Wells; Tokyo (outdoor); Atlanta.

1996 Highlights

* Match record: 19-7

* Ranking: No. 3

* Grand Slam events: Australian Open semifinalist; French Open, lost in second round; Wimbledon, lost in first round.

* Tour titles won: Key Biscayne, Fla.

* Finalist: San Jose.