Agassi Leads the Star Turns

The simple explanation would be that the past, present and future of American tennis happened to come together Monday at UCLA, in the forms of three talented men.

Of course, it’s never that easy when you’re talking about the likes of Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick. The lines can tend to blur when tennis stars align.

Agassi: The 36-year-old is in the final stage of his professional career, a few weeks from retirement. Evidence that Agassi hasn’t become past tense was in the pool of sweat known as Xavier Malisse at the Countrywide Classic. Agassi outworked and ground down the 26-year-old Belgian on a hot, sweaty afternoon at the Los Angeles Tennis Center, 7-6 (10), 6-0, in the first round, saving three set points in the tiebreak.

Connors: The great tennis legend of the past, winner of eight Grand Slam singles titles, reappeared to formally announce his coaching partnership with Roddick. Though Connors hasn’t exactly been in exile, working with the BBC at Wimbledon the last couple of years, his profile in the sport in this country has been decidedly under the radar.

Roddick: He was supposed to be the future, and appeared to dispense with that burdensome tag by winning his first Grand Slam at the U.S. Open in 2003. Then he stalled in the Slams and seemed to regress in 2006, and was dismissed in some quarters as possibly a thing of the past.

So, could he become the future again, by reaching into the past by securing Connors’ help?

It was that full-circle kind of day, especially when you consider Connors once hit with Agassi when Agassi was practically a toddler in Las Vegas.

Agassi announced at Wimbledon this year that he would retire after the U.S. Open. Did that lessen the pressure?

“Not really,” he said. “I always put the pressure on myself to get out there and perform well. To some degree I’m not judging myself quite as harshly. I’m still out there with a competitive spirit. I’m looking forward to this summer and in some regards I’m in denial about it being my last summer out here. I’m aware of how life is going to change. I’m out there wanting it to last as long and good as possible.”

Malisse, who led, 3-1, in the first set before Agassi settled into a decent baseline rhythm, said he felt exhausted at 4-4. His biggest success was with the instant replay, correctly challenging three of four line calls.

(Players made 14 challenges in the three singles matches on the Stadium Court and were right nine times).

Agassi is 6-0 against Malisse and will play either qualifier George Bastl of Switzerland or Nicolas Mahut of France in the next round. He said the long process of deciding to retire was more difficult than the decision itself, calling it “uncomfortable and frustrating.”

“It’s so easy to question yourself at 36 years old, and so easy to second-guess, and so easy to be unsure,” he said. “You just don’t want to get out there and feel ordinary.”

Questions can hit at 36, or age 23, as Roddick will attest. He reached out to Connors after a disappointing French Open, and he traveled to Santa Barbara to work with him for several days earlier this month.

“It means a lot when someone who has won as many tennis championships as Jimmy Connors comes through and says, ‘You know what, I believe in you and I think you can really do some great things and here’s how,’ ” Roddick said. “... I’m pretty excited I get to pick his brain on a more regular basis.”

This won’t be some massive overhaul of Roddick’s game, as Connors said, “It’s not major surgery.”

Connors was pleased with what he saw from Roddick at Indianapolis, where he reached the final and lost to James Blake in a third-set tiebreak on Sunday.

“That’s the kind of tennis and players American tennis needs to get into this next generation,” Connors said. “Because if not, we’re going to miss this next generation. ... What he [Roddick] does is going to pull the chain on a lot of things.

“People are begging to root for this kid.”

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Featured matches

Starting today at 11 a.m.:

STADIUM COURT

* Dominik Hrbaty vs. Zack Fleishman

* Tommy Haas vs. Wayne Arthurs

* Marat Safin vs. Mardy Fish

* Paul Goldstein vs. Lleyton Hewitt

* Justin Gimelstob vs. Robby Ginepri

GRANDSTAND

* George Bastl vs. Nicolas Mahut

* Michael Yani vs. Lars Burgsmuller

* Sam Querrey vs. Vince Spadea

* Benjamin Becker vs. Scott Oudsema