He Gave This Sob Story an Unforgettable Ending

For 21 years at the U.S. Open, he had left them cheering. Sunday, Andre Agassi left them crying. Standing and crying, no less.

The inevitable had happened.

At age 36, he was playing in his last professional tennis tournament. He had won here twice during a career that made him rich, famous and, in the latter years, a sort of legendary ambassador of good sport and good will. He came here with a disk injury in his back that would have had most grown men crying for their mommies. Despite that, he had won first- and second-round thrillers, both long and physically taxing matches.

When he walked on court at Arthur Ashe Stadium, it was fitting that the singing of the national anthem had just ended with a crescendo of “... and the home of the brave.” Agassi wasn’t a soldier, fighting a war, or a policeman or fireman, saving a life. But in the world of sports, he will now go down as part Willis Reed and part Kerri Strug.

In the end, his bravery was painful to watch. He lost in four sets to a 25-year-old German qualifier named Benjamin Becker, no relation to a German star named Boris, or to his tennis ability. That Agassi even extended it to four sets was remarkable, since it was evident early on that hitting serves with almost no leg bend and walking between points hunched over like somebody in his 90s would not get it done.

The Andre Agassi who won eight major titles, 60 tournaments on the ATP tour, an Olympic gold medal and more than $31 million in prize money since he began in 1986 never won a match playing defense, hitting from 20 feet behind the baseline. Nor did he win when statistics after three sets showed that he trailed his opponent in winners, 62-24.

Even with all that, Agassi had one look at getting it into a fifth set, and with the usual estimated 24,000 in Ashe Stadium -- on a record attendance day here of 36,830 -- set to verbally pull him through one more set, the “what if?” was intriguing. But when he hit a makable forehand wide with Becker serving at 4-5 and 30-40, the chance was gone and, just minutes later, Becker was serving with three match points in his pocket.

On the first one, the 2004 NCAA singles champion from Baylor cracked in a 133-mph ace.

It was over.

Agassi’s journey had taken him through 21 years in the spotlight; millions of miles traveled and millions of fans entertained; from Barbra Streisand to Brooke Shields to Steffi Graf and two children; from long hair, pirate bandanas and a snippy attitude, to baldness, tennis whites and a heart that embraces all and raises money for many.

At 2:28 p.m. EDT, in a huge stadium filled with people who loved him so much that they had dared to hope he could keep going, Andre Agassi’s tennis career ended. He walked to the net, shook hands with young Becker, went to his chair on the sideline, sat down and dissolved into a puddle of emotion. Quickly, all 24,000 on hand were there with him.

They stood for a full seven minutes, many of them alternately applauding and sobbing. He sat at first, his head in a towel, crying and with nowhere to hide. The camera was in his face, his emotions piped to the huge screens above, priming the pump for emotions in the stands. Twice, he went out for final four-side goodbye kisses, both times returning to his chair and towel.

Eventually, former tennis player-turned-broadcaster Mary Joe Fernandez conducted the smartest interview of her life. She called out Agassi, handed him the microphone, said nothing and stepped away. His speech may go down as memorable on a Lou Gehrig scale. Gehrig, sadly of course, was departing from more than a tennis career.

Agassi left the court nine minutes after he had lost, and then faced two more incredible gestures.

First, he walked into the players’ locker room to a standing ovation.

“The greatest applause any person will ever receive in their life,” he said, “is that which comes from your peers. It’s not like we are a company who’s working together to accomplish something. We are people who succeed, in some cases, at the demise of the other. To have them applaud you is the ultimate.”

Then, he limped down the hall to his news conference, a final meeting with many who had written about him from long hair to legend. He entered the room, wide-eyed, almost as if the one thing he didn’t expect was a room designed to hold 145 packed with more than 200.

For nearly half an hour he answered questions, welcoming them, embracing them, waving off the USTA guy who wanted to cut it short. He was, as he has been for several years, the Socrates of the tennis tour. Among the offerings, according to Andre, were:

* On retirement: “I look forward to being wherever I am.”

* On tennis: “You are playing a sport that requires you to problem-solve. It requires you to do it in a somewhat emotional state. It’s a bit of life out there.”

* On the crowd afterward: “I was sitting there, realizing that I was saying goodbye to everybody and they were saying goodbye to me.... We were getting through it together.”

* On why he tried so hard here, despite the injury: “This is sort of the last window to a whole series of windows throughout my career. The color on the last one can affect how you see the rest of them. I didn’t want it to be tainted with a lack of desire or preparation.”

* Is he happy it is over? “The pain of the goodbye really lifts the joy of the experience.”

Then Agassi asked a question: “Are you guys really going to miss me, or are you just acting like that?”

The response, from a group that is paid to be adversarial, probing, sarcastic, disbelieving, jaded, confrontational and objective -- always objective -- was a standing ovation and many moist eyes.

Some of us who have had long careers have never seen anything like that. One of us who was there will refuse to confirm or deny whether he participated.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Agassi’s soon-to-be-famous last words

Andre Agassi’s on-court speech to the crowd after the final match of his pro career, a loss to Benjamin Becker in the third round of the U.S. Open on Sunday:

“The scoreboard said I lost today, but what the scoreboard doesn’t say is what it is I have found.

“And over the last 21 years, I have found loyalty. You have pulled for me on the court and also in life. I’ve found inspiration. You have willed me to succeed sometimes even in my lowest moments.

“And I’ve found generosity. You have given me your shoulders to stand on to reach for my dreams, dreams I could have never reached without you.

“Over the last 21 years, I have found you. And I will take you and the memory of you with me for the rest of my life.

“Thank you.”

From the Associated Press

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It’s been a long year

*--* Event Result Delray Beach Lost in quarterfinals to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-4, 6-2 Dubai Lost in second round to Bjorn Phau, 7-5, 7-5 Indian Wells Lost in third round to Tommy Hass, 7-5, 6-2 London Lost in first round to Tim Henman, 6-4, 6-4 Wimbledon Lost in third round to Rafael Nadal, 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-4 Los Angeles Lost in quarterfinals to Fernando Gonzalez, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 Washington Lost in second round to Andrea Stoppini, 6-4, 6-3 U.S. Open Lost in third round to Benjamin Becker, 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-5

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