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| July 02, 2006 | Sunday | Jumadi-ul-Sani 5, 1427 |
Tearful Agassi bows out of Wimbledon for the last time
LONDON, July 1: A tearful Andre Agassi bowed out of Wimbledon for the final time on Saturday, beaten in straight sets by Rafael Nadal.
Playing in his 14th Wimbledon before retirement later this year, the 36-year-old American couldn't keep up with the relentless power hitting of the 20-year-old Spaniard and fell 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-4.
For one last time, Agassi stood in the middle of the court after the match and blew kisses and bowed to all corners of the arena. Then, in a break with Wimbledon tradition, he addressed the crowd by microphone to say goodbye.
''It's been a lot of incredible years here,'' Agassi said, wiping away tears. ''I'll never be able to repay you for how you've embraced me over the years and I thank you for that. ... You guys are awesome tennis fans, you have shown me so much love.''Then Agassi took his bag, stopped to sign a few autographs and gave a final wave as he walked off the most famous court in tennis.
Among those in the crowd was his wife, Steffi Graf, a seven-time Wimbledon champion who sat in the Royal Box along with other tournament winners and sports champions.
''It means as much as winning to say goodbye,'' Agassi told reporters. 'I think this is the place that first taught me to respect the sport. Seeing the respect for tennis, the respect for competitors, the appreciation for it, whether they are queueing up outside or sitting with their umbrellas at Centre Court.''
In other matches, third-seeded Lleyton Hewitt _ seeded No. 3 _ cruised into the fourth round with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win over Belgium's Olivier Rochus.
Nadal will next face Irakli Labadze of Georgia, who advanced when Mardy Fish retired because of illness after losing the first set 6-2.
In women's play, No. 7 Elena Dementieva and No. 9 Anastasia Myskina advanced in straight sets.
Nadal, the two-time French Open champion, transferred his clay-court baseline game to the grass of Centre Court to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon for the first time.
It marked the changing of the guard, with the popular American leaving the All England Club stage for good and Nadal making his breakthrough on the fast surface. Nadal had just turned 6 when Agassi won the first of his eight Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon in 1992.
''He is one of the best players,'' Nadal said in remarks to the crowd. ''I want to congratulate Andre. He is unbelievable. Today I played for sure my best match on grass.''
Agassi wasn't just beaten by Nadal, he was dominated. Nadal had 44 winners and only 10 unforced errors, while Agassi had 23 winners and 18 errors.
''I just wanted to give myself a chance,'' Agassi said. ''I went out there today and he just beat me. I was hoping for too much.''
The Spaniard isn't renowned for his serve, and Agassi is considered one of the best returners in the history of the game. Yet, Nadal had 18 aces and won 64 of 79 points on serve. Not only did he never face a break point _ Agassi never even got to deuce on Nadal's serve.
Fittingly, Nadal finished the match with an ace _ a wide-swinging serve that gave Agassi no chance. Nadal leaped in the air and held up his arms, but celebrated in a relatively muted fashion. The two embraced at the net, and Nadal gave Agassi a pat on the back as they headed to their chairs.
Nadal grabbed the momentum from the start, winning his service games with ease — including 12 straight points on serve at one stage in the first set — and putting Agassi under pressure on his. Agassi saved six break points, and three set points at 5-4 down, and held on until 6-6.
The match was essentially decided in the tiebreaker, and Agassi blew his chances.
The American moved to a 5-2 lead — two points from the set —but lost the next five.
A key moment came at 5-3 when Nadal slipped and fell at the baseline but Agassi whacked a second-serve return into the net. On the next point, Agassi had an opening but slapped a forehand approach shot wide to make it 5-5.
Then, Nadal pulled off the shot of the match — running deep into the corner and whipping a crosscourt passing shot for a breathtaking winner. On set point, he ripped a 121 mph ace and celebrated with a right-arm uppercut.
''Once the first set was gone, the prospects got grimmer for me,'' Agassi said. ''I wasn't getting a look at too many of his service games.''
Nadal broke Agassi in the first game of the second set with a forehand winner, broke again for 4-2, and served out the set with an ace down the middle. Nadal got the decisive break in the third set for a 4-2 lead.
Results:
Men’s (third round): 27-Dmitry Tursunov (Russia) beat 5-Ivan Ljubicic (Croatia) 5-7 4-6 6-1 7-6(6) 6-2; 6-Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) beat 26-Olivier Rochus (Belgium) 6-1 6-4 6-4; 2-Rafael Nadal (Spain) beat 25-Andre Agassi (U.S.) 7-6(5) 6-2 6-4; Irakli Labadze (Georgia) beat Mardy Fish (U.S.) 6-2 (Fish retired).
Women's: 16-Flavia Pennetta (Italy) beat Shuai Peng (China) 6-2 6-3; 19-Ana Ivanovic (Serbia and Montenegro) beat 14-Dinara Safina (Russia) 3-6 7-6(3 ) 6-1; 7-Elena Dementieva (Russia) beat 25-Elena Likhovtseva (Russia) 7-5 6-3; Shenay Perry (U.S.) beat Sybille Bammer (Austria) 7-5 6-3; 9-Anastasia Myskina (Russia) beat 23-Anabel Medina (Spain) 6-3 6-4.—Agencies
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