by Matt Cronin
Posted Date: Sunday, September 3, 2006
It was nearly an hour before Andre Agassi stopped crying and it could be a decade before the sport stops wiping away its tears.
The 36-year-old legend bowed out of the US Open and tennis on Sunday in a 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-5 loss to Germany’s Benjamin Becker, but there was no real defeat on the day, as all 23,712 fans in attendance stood and cheered in unison, saluting the most popular tennis player of all time.
While other players have come close to Agassi in international recognition, none have been as widely loved, and as Agassi wept courtside, in the locker room and in the players lounge, the world took a bow – just like he did eight times in front of the highly emotional crowd.
With tears running down his cheeks, Agassi still had the courage to take the microphone and thank fans for inspiring him to succeed, even during his lowest moments. Early in his career, Agassi had fought against the world. Later in life, he learned to how to lean on his supporters’ shoulders.
“They’ve pulled for me,” he said. “In many cases, how they pulled for me on the court has helped me in life. In other cases, how they’ve pulled for me in life has helped me on the court. Over the years, it’s been hard to separate the tennis from the relationships. They got me through a lot.”
Even outside of Ashe Stadium, fans gathered together closely outside of the big screen and shared warm applause and salutation. Even the sometimes cynical media engaged in a long, heartfelt press conference with him and as a group, told him they were sincere in how much they will miss him.
basara@lab
2006/09/04/14:01
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