For Agassi, a Tearful Goodbye

As Agassi fought back tears after Sunday's loss, his longtime trainer, Gil Reyes, looking on from a box with Graf and her two children with Agassi, fought back the urge to run down to the court and hug him.

"But I guess he earned a good cry," Reyes said. "He earned every bit of the joy and tears he had today."

Agassi announced in June that he would retire after this U.S. Open, and he approached the event as a chance to paint one last image on the court. Hoisting the trophy was never the goal; trying with all his heart was.

"I didn't want it to be tainted with a lack of desire or preparation," Agassi said. "For me, it was never about winning and stopping. It was always about getting the most out of myself for as long as possible." But from the moment he strode onto court, it was clear Agassi had little left to give.

Becker came out blazing, undaunted by Agassi's résumé and the chance to face his childhood idol on the biggest stage he'd ever seen.

The two traded blistering groundstrokes and booming serves through the first few games, with neither able to build a lead. But Agassi's fluid movement quickly disappeared, and he retreated farther from the baseline to face Becker's big serve.

Rallies were an obvious struggle, with Agassi groaning in pain over the drop shots he tried vainly to retrieve. For stretches, it felt like watching a thoroughbred racehorse break down before your eyes, only in slow motion.

Said CBS commentator John McEnroe, a four-time U.S. Open champion, as an uneasy silence fell over the stadium: "It's as if they don't even want to push him too much. It's like everyone collectively is worried about him." Agassi leveled the match by winning the second set in a tiebreaker. But there was no skip in his step afterward; each step he took was as if walking on hot coals.

"We're behind you, Andre!" one fan screamed.

With his range of motion shrinking, Agassi resorted to desperate tactics -- gambling big on his serves in hopes of keeping the points short. And while he couldn't push off for an explosive first step, he retained enough muscle memory to fire occasional winners even while rooted to the baseline.

Becker, whose biggest previous achievement had been winning an NCAA title for Baylor, started struggling as well, unaccustomed to the rigor of best-of-five set matches. He also was getting booed each time he flicked a drop shot, which the crowd viewed as heartless given Agassi's constraints.

Becker explained later that he hit the shot out of instinct rather than a lack of respect. He was uneasy being perceived as a bad guy, just as he was uneasy following Agassi into the locker room, where every player rose and applauded the fallen champion.

Given the individual nature of tennis, in which one player's victories come at another's expense, that tribute meant as much to Agassi as anything.

"It will be that applause -- the applause from the fans, the applause from my peers," Agassi said, asked what he would remember most about his career. "That was the greatest memory I've ever had -- memories I'll keep with me forever."