Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi
Andre Kirk Agassiis an American retired professional tennis player and former World No. 1, who was one of the game's most dominant players from the early 1990s to the mid-2000s. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi had been called the greatest service returner in the history of the game. Described by the BBC upon his retirement as "perhaps the biggest worldwide star in the sport's history", Agassi...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionTennis Player
Date of Birth29 April 1970
CityLas Vegas, NV
CountryUnited States of America
So I go to the Open with the intention of hopefully bringing some inspiration to those who take a few hours out of their day to come watch me. That's what I look forward to.
So now all of a sudden I'm faced with the reality that I can actually go enjoy the Open this year, because I'm doing a few things right, which is nice to feel, ... Yeah, I like where I am right now.
The challenge is real simple. Most people have weaknesses and most people only have one great shot. Federer doesn't have weaknesses and has a few great shots. So that equates to a problem. You hit it in that corner and that corner and that corner and that corner, over and over again, and you beat him. But you got to do it.
Now my hopes are for the U.S. Open. I'm in a much better place right now than I was a few weeks ago.
It's been a long time since I've felt good on the court. It's just getting tiring, that's all. It never feels good when you're losing often. You know, to have a few good wins and have a good tournament would help me, remind me right now why I'm doing this. But as of right now it's hard to feel that thrilled about it.
The third and fourth set, I felt I was a bit living on the edge with my serve. He was getting a lot of good swings at it, had me under a lot of pressure. But the fifth, I had a few good easy hold games and started to relax a little bit more and hit my spots a little bit better, so that helped me to relax on my return games, as well.
This is what you work so hard for. This means as much to me as being in the finals.... There are few moments that can be this special.
It took me a while to enjoy playing here the first few years,
Oh, how do you find words for what this means? This has been some of the greatest memories I've ever had on the court, ... I'll have these memories the rest of my life. Being in the finals at 35 just means you're going to have to put up with me a lot longer.
It took me a while after Paris to get healed up, a lot longer than I anticipated,
His serve was more awkward than I anticipated. If you don't get a good return, he immediately gets on the offense. That's the sign of a great player.
In the middle to late part of the third set, the sciatic nerve in my back started to get inflamed and it sent pain down my right leg and it got worse by the minute,
It's just been terrible this year for the number of players who haven't been ready to play here,
I threw myself in with eagerness and desire, but it was just too much, too soon.