Agassi to Retire After U.S. Open
'He Made Tennis a Cool Sport'

By Liz Clarke
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, June 25, 2006

WIMBLEDON, England, June 24 -- In his early days as the shaggy-haired, Day-Glo rebel of tennis, Andre Agassi spurned Wimbledon, skipping the sport's most prestigious tournament three years running largely because he felt its predominantly white dress code cramped his renegade style.

On Saturday, a 36-year-old Agassi chose the same tournament's storied grounds, which he has long since come to revere, having won his first major title there in 1992, to announce that he'll retire after this year's U.S. Open -- a decision that makes this Wimbledon fortnight his last.

"This is where it all started for me -- my dreams," Agassi said during a news conference at the All England club two days before Wimbledon begins. "It really started here."

Agassi said he had been mulling retirement for the past few months while he worked through a chronic back injury and other ailments in the season's early-going, suffering more setbacks than strides. He insisted that there is "still a lot of fight left in me," as he proved nine months ago with his stirring run to the U.S. Open final, where he lost to world No. 1 Roger Federer in four sets. But he has come to grips with his career's end and has crafted a plan to channel what talent and energy remain into one more Wimbledon, the tournament closest to his heart, and a final campaign at the U.S. Open, the tournament he considers his home.

"It's a clear choice for me: To come back here was an easy choice," said Agassi, who missed Wimbledon in 2004 and 2005 because of injury and fatigue from the punishing clay-court season that preceded it. This year, with his exit strategy in mind, he skipped the clay events in order to marshal his strength.

"I sacrificed the clay to make sure that my body was right enough to see this through," he said, "and I look forward to ending on my home turf, back in New York. Then, I embrace the future."

Age and time rendered Agassi's decision inevitable, but they didn't make it easier for his peers to accept on an otherwise uneventful Saturday as players fanned out over practice courts to fine-tune their strokes. Agassi opens play Tuesday against Serbia's Boris Pashanski and could face second-seed Rafael Nadal in the third round.

To many veterans, Agassi is the measuring stick by which they have gauged their progress over the years. To many of the game's youngsters, who grew up with his posters on their walls, he remains an idol.

"He's a legend," said Nadal, 20, the two-time French Open champion, who was 6 when Agassi won Wimbledon in 1992.

Rising star Andy Murray, an obstreperous Scot, confessed that his palms poured sweat when he recently took the practice court for the first time against Agassi.

"It didn't really feel right practicing with someone like him," said Murray, 19. "When I was growing up, he was obviously the guy that I looked up to. He changed tennis, I think. He made tennis a cool sport. To lose someone like him, it's obviously a shame for the game."

"I think everybody including Andre knew that the end was imminent," said Paul Goldstein, 29, of Rockville. "But to hear it, is sad. My first reaction is a touch of sadness."

Agassi exploded onto the tennis scene as a teenager, turning pro at 16 and amassing $2 million in prize money by the time he was 18. Nike reveled in his upstart image. Players marveled at the precision of his ball-striking. And tournament promoters gushed over his appeal at the ticket counter, particularly in Washington, where Agassi packed the stands en route to five Legg Mason tournament titles.

"He was tremendous as a youngster -- exciting and flamboyant," tournament founder Donald Dell said. "The last 10 years he has been far and away the biggest ticket-seller in the sport."

But on court Agassi's results careened from brilliance to irrelevance. Five years after his 1992 Wimbledon victory -- "as vivid, as alive as yesterday," Agassi said -- his ranking had plunged to 141st in the world. He rededicated himself to the game and finished 1999 as the world's No. 1 player, making history by becoming only the fifth man to win all four Grand Slam singles titles with his victory at the French Open.

"The day I won in Paris was the day that I knew I would never have another regret the rest of my career," Agassi said Saturday.

Along with his transformation as a player came a rebirth off the court, as Agassi morphed from a churlish, image-obsessed pop star to the sport's senior statesman and dedicated philanthropist who has funneled millions into a school for disadvantaged children in his native Las Vegas.

"His career was more than just a handful of matches," former touring pro Todd Martin said. "His whole career was played out in front of the public, and the way he has handled it in the second half of his career has been extraordinary."

Said Agassi: "I sort of had to learn some tough lessons in front of a lot of people, and one of which was to respect the greatest tournament in our sport -- the greatest championship there is for us. To miss it here for the first number of years, and to come back to be embraced, taught me a lot about what the human spirit is capable of. And I started a journey at that stage to do my best to give back to everything it had given."