Despite Regrets, Timing Works

Award ceremonies are usually mundane affairs, exercises in self-congratulatory speeches and bromides, but Andre Agassi livened up Sunday’s at UCLA, in part by insulting one of the sponsors of the Mercedes-Benz Cup.

“First,” he said, taking the microphone from Franklin Johnson, USTA president and tournament chairman, “don’t give me an empty envelope, please.”

With 60 tournament titles dotting his resume, Agassi knew full well that the winner’s check wasn’t really in the envelope he’d been handed.

He let the crowd in on the deceit, and the fans roared.

Later, after thanking his coach and his trainer and everybody else who had helped position him to defeat Gilles Muller of Luxembourg and win the tournament after an eight-week, injury-induced layoff, Agassi was handed more spoils of victory.

“I also get a watch,” he told the crowd, eyeing a $1,000 timepiece provided by tournament sponsor Raymond Weil. “That’s what I call an EBay watch.”

The crowd roared anew, but Agassi seemed to regret it.

He jokingly promised that any proceeds from the watch’s sale would go directly to his charitable foundation.

But later he was contrite, calling it a “dumb thing to say” and adding that he didn’t even know how to use a computer.

“Listen,” he said in the interview room, “nine times out of 10 I say something and I go, ‘I’m glad I said it.’ One out of 10 I go, ‘Haven’t you learned yet to keep your mouth shut?’ And that was one of those times. I put on the watch and took some pictures with it because, you know, it was something I shouldn’t have said.”

Muller, though, said he got a kick out of Agassi’s remarks.

“It was nice,” he said. “I mean, people love that, no? Everybody was laughing. ... I don’t have the guts to do this. I was so nervous when I had to talk, but it’s fun when you see a guy like this enjoying himself with the crowd. It’s wonderful.”

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Mercedes-Benz has ended its long-running association with the tournament.

The luxury automobile company, which also has extensive ties with the ATP Tour, had been the tournament’s title sponsor since 1998.

Previously, Mercedes-Benz had extended its sponsorship for two years, running through the 2005 event.

Tournament director Bob Kramer said that they learned of Mercedes-Benz’s decision on June 30.

“We’ve had five title sponsors in the last 30 years,” Kramer said. “It is disappointing, but the handwriting was on the wall. We knew they were cutting across the board.”

Although disappointed by the development, tournament chairman Johnson was looking ahead to the future and mentioned one possible scenario for 2006.

“Countrywide is very interested,” Johnson said. “They have in their contract the right of first refusal. The comments are very encouraging.”

Countrywide Financial, based in Calabasas, has been the tournament’s presenting sponsor in 2004 and 2005.

Tournament prize money in 2005 was $380,000, but appearance fees given to top players push the total compensation package up past $1 million.

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Rick Leach, who will turn 41 in December, may have taken another step toward making a final U.S. Open appearance when he combined with Brian MacPhie to win the doubles final, 6-3, 6-4, over Israelis Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram.

“It can’t hurt,” said Leach, who got into the event as a wild card and will play in a challenger event this week at Vancouver, Canada. “I was thinking that I was going to have to get my ranking up and not worry about the wild card.

“I think it just depends on which way the USTA wants to go: If they want to go with youth or just try to help me out one last time.”