| Page 2 of 2 < |
Agassi Gets Another Day to Rest
Andre Agassi took his third injection in five days on Saturday for his ailing back. Agassi's third-round match against Benjamin Becker was pushed to Sunday due to rain.
(Mike Segar - Reuters)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
While Agassi has become the story of the 2006 U.S. Open, Becker is so obscure that he was kicked out of Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday night while trying to watch the Agassi-Baghdatis match. Without a ticket, Becker wasn't allowed to even scout his next opponent while standing in an aisle. An usher asked him to leave, so he went back to his hotel to watch on TV.
"It was an unbelievable match," Becker said Friday. "I was really impressed with the way they both played and how tough they were, too."
Unlike Agassi, who was groomed by his father to become a tennis champion, Becker picked up the sport by accident at age 7, stumbling upon an old tennis racket in his family's garage. A neighbor taught him the basics, and he played in his back yard, pretending he was Andre Agassi.
"That's what we said: 'I'm Agassi!' " Becker recalled. "That's what you do when you're younger. You see those guys on TV and you just want to imitate them."
Becker was never identified as a prodigy the way Agassi was. Only one American college offered him a tennis scholarship, so he enrolled at Baylor, not knowing the slightest thing about Waco, Tex.
"First time I came to America was Waco," Becker said. "I was a little surprised. I was expecting all skyscrapers."
A business major one semester shy of graduating, he led the Bears to the 2004 NCAA title. But his transition to pro tour was as rocky as his introduction to America.
Becker was ranked roughly No. 1,400 in the world this time a year ago. Since signing with veteran coach Tarik Benhabiles, whose previous charges include Roddick, he has climbed to 112. According to Benhabiles, Becker's best stroke is his service return, and his chief asset is his ability to manage his emotions. He'll need it against Agassi, who brings the support of 23,000 fans to every match.
"He has to be able to erase in his mind that he's playing Agassi," Benhabiles said. "I don't want him to be impressed by the résumé of Andre Agassi."
Asked if he had ever competed in a match in which the entire stadium rooted against him, Becker said that he had -- when Baylor played at Texas Tech.
"People were standing right on the court! You could hear whatever they said to you!" Becker said. "But there were only 200 people, maybe; 20,000 is a little different."
