Tuesday, June 04, 2002
Agassi still has knack for comeback
By STEVE WILSTEIN
AP Sports Writer
Andre Agassi is laying waste to the popular wisdom that getting married, having a child and, sin of all sins, playing past 30 spell doom for a tennis player.
There he was at the French Open on Monday, scuffling around in the rain on the red clay, shaking his bald head or scratching it for two frustrating sets, and finally figuring out what it would take to beat another young kid with his cap on backward.
This was more than a vintage performance by Agassi, who had rallied from two sets down three other times in his career — the last, and most compelling, against Andrei Medvedev in the 1999 French final.
Agassi's 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 victory over 20-year-old wild-card Paul-Henri Mathieu for a berth in the quarterfinals was further evidence that, at 32, almost nothing in tennis is beyond his reach. Not another Grand Slam title. Not several Grand Slam titles. On any surface.
No player over 30 has ever finished No. 1 in the ATP rankings since they began in 1973. Agassi, fresh from winning the Italian Open, has a shot at it this year.
An ocean and a continent away from the French Open, Brad Gilbert woke at 6 a.m. at his home in San Rafael, Calif., to watch his friend and former employer carve out this victory. They spent eight years together, a stretch that included six of Agassi's seven Grand Slam titles and ended amicably a few months ago.
What Gilbert saw in this match was a player who can still produce the most exquisite groundstrokes and can win even on a day when those shots are not quite clicking.
“When he was down 3-1 in the fifth, it's not like he blasted every shot,” Gilbert said. “He just played smart enough for that guy to self-destruct. That's what he's doing better than ever. He's got a lot of moxie from years of experience.
“The game hasn't passed him by, which is amazing. He's got some of the most incredible, God-given talent. If he can handle the grind — he's been out on the tour almost 17 years — I think he could play at this level until he's 35. He could shock everybody and keep doing it.”
Five years ago, when Agassi was nursing injuries and going through some personal issues, his ranking plummeted to No. 141 and he found himself scrambling on the challenger's tour. Almost every pundit wrote his tennis obituary. Agassi, himself, harbored doubts that he would ever claw his way back to the top.
The notion that he would reach five more Grand Slam finals and win four of them would have sounded ludicrous. Just as ludicrous as the notion now that Agassi might somehow win another half-dozen and catch Pete Sampras for the all-time total.
Sampras, at 30, hasn't won a tournament, much less a major, since he captured his seventh Wimbledon two years ago. Jim Courier retired to the broadcast booth in 2000. Michael Chang is still on the tour but struggling, winning only one match in 10 this year and coming close to fading from the top 100. Of the quartet of American men who dominated men's tennis since the late '80s, only Agassi is chasing the top ranking.
Maybe Agassi is lasting longer because he took time off earlier. Because he wasn't so consumed by the sport and the pursuit of records the way Sampras was. Because when Agassi decided to whip himself into shape, he did it with a degree of ferocity few others matched.
Or maybe Agassi stayed so competitive because of his basic skills, because his style is as conducive to clay as it is to grass and hard courts.
That doesn't mean that the tennis world has heard the last from Sampras.
“Pete's game relies more on his serve,” Gilbert said. “If he turned it around next week, it wouldn't surprise me. All he has to do is look at Andre and say, OK, at 30, he's not done. He could say, 'If Andre's 32 and winning, that's an example for me.' Hey, it wouldn't surprise me if they met each other in the Wimbledon final.”
It's too simplistic to pin a player's decline to changes in his personal life. For some, marriage and children might be a distraction from the commitment of training and touring. For others, it might be just what they need to renew their passion for the game. Agassi hasn't missed a beat on the court since marrying Steffi Graf and seeing their son born last year.
“It's so sad to hear the last two years that Pete's losing because he got married,” Gilbert said. “Man, that's cruel on his wife. There's more to tennis than that. Andre's incredibly happy. He's working hard and doing the thing he loves to do. Sometimes, as an athlete, you can be an old 30 or you can be a young 32. Andre's a young 32.”
————
Steve Wilstein is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at swilstein@ap.org
Sports Stories
Teams cut big-name veterans
In draft, Reds weigh talent vs. payroll
Teams scramble to find top players for draft
Pete Rose may get last Cinergy hurrah
Almanzar replacing Rijo
Casey to make camp appearance
Kearns named Rookie of the Month
Reds-Cardinals series preview
Toledo 6, Louisville 0
Beckett wants to lose tipoff
Blue Jays fire manager Martinez, promote Tosca
Baseball Today
NL roundup
AL roundup
Preps schedule
Agassi still has knack for comeback
