Agassi, last of his breed, ponders his farewell

Watching Pete Sampras and Michael Chang retire from tennis on consecutive days has made Andre Agassi reflect on what makes him the last of his generation still playing the game.

Watching Pete Sampras and Michael Chang retire from tennis on consecutive days has made 33-year-old world number one Andre Agassi reflect on what makes him the last of his generation still playing the game.

HT Image

"I have to answer that question a lot. 'Is this still what I want to be doing?' I ask it every day one way or another," Agassi said. "Everything I do, I'm always asking if this is where I want to be, what I want to be doing.

"That's what makes it good."

Eight-time Grand Slam champion Agassi pondered his motivations here Tuesday after defeating Spain's Alex Corretja 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in a first-round match that followed Chang's farewell match, a first-round exit from the hardcourt event.

"I feel a strong sense of obligation to this game for everything it has given me," Agassi said. "I want to give everything I have as long as possible."

Watching Monday's retirement ceremony for his arch-rival Sampras on television hit close to home for Agassi. The siren song of life outside tennis that pushed Sampras to say goodbye is something which tests Agassi every day.

"I feel that way most of the time and that's not a joke," Agassi said. "Most of the time I feel like, 'Today is the day I can't do it.' That to me is the challenge. It always has been. I certainly identify with it.

"It's a challenge. It's hard work. There are a lot of questions you have to get answered. Once you lose your desire to find those answers -- Can I get through this again? Do I want to? -- then you make that decision.

"I understand the decision not to do it anymore. But my choices are different right now."

Agassi, Sampras, Chang and Jim Courier broke onto the scene together about 15 years ago. Now Agassi is the last of them still swinging a racket with the best of them.

"It's a weird feeling," Agassi said. "You just sort of expect to leave the dance with the one's you came with. When they decide it's time, it's a sad feeling. I'm certainly proud to still be doing this this long at this level.

"But sometimes you just wish things would never change."

Agassi said the departures of Sampras and Chang will not hasten his own retirement.

"I would like to believe my decisions would be independent of that," Agassi said. "I don't think any athlete has any idea of how it will end for them. How it comes to an end will be news to me as well.

"It wouldn't be my style to carve something out, do a farewell plan. That wouldn't be my plan."

But Agassi was moved by the special sendoff Sampras received.

"How do you find words for that? It's a special time," Agassi said. "I've had the privlege of watching him from the other side of the net so many times, to compete against him, be pushed by him.

"He's truly deserving of everything that has come his way, especially this, enjoying his family and moving on. But it's sad for me. I've been with him a long time. I enjoyed carrying the load with Pete."

A new generation of rivals has Agassi seeing unfamiliar faces in locker rooms where he once saw his former junior rivals. And these younger men have not put their bodies through the grind of 15 seasons on the ATP Tour.

"There aren't many 33-year-olds out there playing," Agassi said. "It's a young sport. Lot of wear and tear. No off-season. You travel the entire globe. It's just mental, physical demands on your body. There's no time to rest then prepare and go again. The body takes a pretty good beating."

Agassi has had large slides in his career, tumbling down the rankings from the top when with actress Brooke Shields and finding his way back to the peak with help from wife Steffi Graf, the former women's world number one.

"It's all a function of what kind of support you have," he said. "I get a lot of support, partly because she is aware of what goes into what I need to do to have a chance at any of these accomplishments, but also because she cares about what I care about."