Agassi's Farewell Tour Breaks Bad

Fan Favorite Falls to World's No. 246

Andre Agassi was showered with a hero's reception when he strode onto the court for his 17th and final appearance in Washington's Legg Mason Classic last night, and he responded by blowing kisses at the adoring capacity crowd. But what promised to be a love-fest turned bittersweet in short order, with Agassi flinging his racket in disgust as a victory that should have been child's play slipped from his seasoned hands.

Agassi fell in 60 minutes to Italian qualifier Andrea Stoppini, 6-4, 6-3, bringing to an end a decades' old relationship with Washington area tennis fans. Even in defeat Agassi was smothered with affection, as ticket holders who had waited longer in the sweltering heat for his match to start (90 minutes) than Agassi spent on Center Court rewarded him with a standing ovation.

"The first thing you want to do is just run off the court and hide," said the 36-year-old Agassi, dejected by his poor play. "But then you can't get around the fact that I've lived my life here. I've spent so much of my time here; there have been so many good moments, and you can't get hung up on a difficult one. Age and experience have taught me a little better how to deal with that. But I wanted more for them and myself."

The victory was a career-making experience for Stoppini, the world's 246th ranked player, who had never won a match on the sport's top tour until Monday, when he defeated Rockville's Paul Goldstein, 6-3, 6-2.

Agassi, meantime, is left to rethink his preparations for the U.S. Open, which begins in four weeks. The season's final Grand Slam will mark his farewell to tennis, and he has structured his summer around peaking at the event. But after this loss, in which he struggled with his serve and sprayed his normally reliable groundstrokes well beyond the baseline, Agassi seemed riddled with self-doubt.

"I'm open for suggestions at this point," he said.

While Agassi complimented Stoppini's serve, which he never managed to break, he placed the outcome on his own shoulders.

"I didn't even get to the point tonight where I was dealing with his game," he said. "I was trying to just make good contact and keep a few balls in play. He served pretty well and close to the lines, but you certainly expect that these days. I just never did anything very well tonight."

Agassi's defeat was the second major loss for the tournament in 24 hours. Defending champion Andy Roddick, whose box office appeal is second only to Agassi's, announced Monday night that he was withdrawing because of a muscle strain in his side.

Top-seeded James Blake, the tournament's 2002 champion, survived a scare from fellow American Kevin Kim in last night's final match before prevailing, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2.

Also advancing was former world No. 1 Marat Safin, a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 victor over Nicolas Mahut of France. Britain's Tim Henman squeaked past American qualifier Phillip King, 6-7 (7-3), 6-3, 7-5, in his first match since June, when he was ushered out of Wimbledon in the second round by eventual champion Roger Federer. Henman never lost serve in subduing King, 24, who played four years at Duke. But the match took a toll on fans and spectators alike, lasting 2 hours 33 minutes and delaying the start of Agassi's match from 7 p.m. to nearly 8:30 p.m.

Agassi opened play in reasonable form, matching Stoppini stroke for stroke. But his serve deserted him in the 10th game of the first set. Serving at 4-5, Agassi found himself facing three set points. He pulled out two service winners and slugged his way to deuce. But Stoppini didn't relent, finally snatching the set on an Agassi backhand that sailed well past the baseline.

The crowd grew quiet, as if disbelieving what the scoreboard said.

Agassi finally snapped when Stoppini took a 3-0 lead in the second set. Unable to break his opponent or hold his own serve, Agassi slammed his racket on the court with such force that it mangled the frame at a right angle.

The crowd was struck dumb, stunned by the outburst from a player regarded as the sport's statesman. It was as if a beloved relative had erupted in an ugly tirade at the Thanksgiving dinner table, and no one knew what to do. Fans weren't sure whether to cheer Agassi back into contention or act as if nothing untoward had happened. They settled on cheering Stoppini's errors instead. But it wasn't enough to reverse Agassi's fortunes, and the end came quickly.

"I was very frustrated," Agassi explained. "I wanted it really bad. I wanted to be comfortable and hit my shots, but I felt like with every point the court got smaller. I didn't have a good sense for if I was hitting it too big or not hitting it enough. I never found my rhythm."