[NY Times] Here's Hoping Agassi Keeps Defyi …
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/12/sports/tennis/12selena.html
By SELENA ROBERTS
Andre Agassi is not Pete Sampras. He is not looking for the right way to
leave. He keeps working on ways to stay.
IN pigtails and pedal pushers, Jaz Agassi ran full tilt down the carpeted
hallway of Arthur Ashe Stadium, her feet trying to catch up to her momentum,
her direction set on her daddy's weary legs as he walked off the court.
A moment earlier, Andre Agassi had been standing at a trophy ceremony,
leaning slightly to his left in an ode to his finicky back, as Roger Federer
held the United States Open cup.
Jaz was just happy that her daddy's work was done. It was everyone else who
was so dispirited, so unsure if they'd seen the last of Agassi, hopeful that
his tennis mortality has yet another ounce of elasticity.
Why not? If Agassi's health is intact, there is no reason that last night had
to be a sunset. Instead, think of it as extended daylight.
Agassi can play on because he isn't Pete Sampras. At the end of his career -
one underscored with his memorable 2002 United States Open title - Sampras
was in search of the right exit sign. He was always looking, wondering when
to say when.
True to his serve-and-volley form, Sampras liked the game quick and easy.
One, two, three, point. Sampras was a marvelous champion and has a sacred
place in history, but he wasn't into the labor and patience, as his French
Open experiences revealed. And Sampras was not a fan of the process, as his
abbreviated practices sometimes displayed.
Agassi craves the process and digs the labor. He is inspired by the results
he sees from running up the mountains high above the Las Vegas Strip. He is
pushed to disprove the myths of aging by running youth ragged on the court.
Agassi doesn't deny age. He just tries to defy it. All the cortisone shots in
the world can't numb him to the high of competition and the pain he still
feels from losing.
"Right now, the fact that this hurts so bad will be encouraging," said Gil
Reyes, Agassi's longtime friend and training guru. "I think it will light the
fire.
"No one forced Willie Mays," Reyes continued on the subject of retirement.
"No one forced Joe Namath. I want to make sure that we're not forcing Andre
to do what he probably shouldn't do."
Agassi seemed to feel exactly the same way after finishing off his 20th
consecutive year at the United States Open with a journey one part
mesmerizing, one part uplifting, and one part unfathomable for a 35-year-old.
"As of now, my intention is to keep working and keep doing what it is I do,"
he said. "You know, the only thing better than the last 20 years will be the
last 21 years."
So it was very appropriate that the man in the gray stubble, the one with the
two kids and sciatica, employed a strategy of longevity in a very special
effort to outlast Federer's perfection before falling, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-1.
"He's the best I've ever played against," said Agassi, adding: "Pete was
great, no question. But there was a place to get to with Pete. You knew what
you had to do. If you do it, it could be on your terms. There's no such place
like that with Roger."
How do you nudge Picasso's elbow in mid-brushstroke? Agassi extended the
match and Federer with a savvy selection of drop shots and dastardly angles,
with Ben-Gay groans as he reached for gets, with winners concocted from years
of experience. For a while, Federer's beautiful mind was confused by Agassi's
math.
Then, with Agassi ahead, 4-2, in the third set, Federer regained his liquid
moves and unflappable demeanor and began methodically dismantling the rowdy
vibe of a crowd that was practically linked together in a seance, trying to
mentally and spiritually lift Agassi.
"Well, over the last 20 years, I've come full circle," Agassi said. "It's
been an amazing journey and discovery of each other as I've grown up out
here."
The fans stood in appreciation of a living time capsule. One look at Agassi
and out spills two decades of memories. There were the rebellious years
filled with rock-star locks, neon shorts, a resistance to authority and a
drive-through diet.
There was the Zen period with Barbara Streisand, and his marriage to Brooke
Shields and 1997, the season he plunged to No. 141 and was forced to play in
a satellite event.
He exited the bottom with enough perspective to start building a school for
the disadvantaged and the energy to renew his vows to tennis. Soon, everyone
would discover Agassi's true love, Steffi Graf.
Somehow, despite his wealth and fame and celebrity, Agassi was the everyman.
Hadn't everyone been a rebellious kid? Hadn't everyone been into Day-Glo
shorts? Hadn't everyone misstepped with love once or twice?
Last night, Agassi was the crowd, and the crowd was Agassi. Who would want to
see that relationship end? To let go of Agassi would be for the fans to
release a little of themselves.
If Jaz Agassi was latched on to her Daddy after the match, so was everyone
else.
It seems only natural for everyone to ask Jaz, "Can your daddy play a little
longer?"
Maybe, just maybe, he'll say, "Yes." After all, Agassi is not Sampras. He is
not looking for the right way to leave. He keeps working on ways to stay.
--
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