I don't miss Andre Agassi anymore

Cheryl Murray

I don't miss Andre Agassi anymore

2008-10-09 08:33:32

That's not a very nice title for a blog, is it? Sorry Andre, I didn't mean it like THAT. It's just that for a lot of people, Andre WAS tennis. He carried the commercial success of the sport for a long, LONG time. And for me, he was the essence of tennis nostalgia. Agassi is why I started watching tennis, he is why I continued to watch tennis, and eventually why I fell in love with the sport itself.

Yes, at times he was crass, rude and generally a brat. But he was also interesting, charismatic and he introduced a kind of tennis nobody had ever produced before – the aggressive baseline game. How many years did men's tennis cash in on Andre? The answer is simple enough – it was every day of every year that he played. You can bet that there was some serious weeping in the ATP the day he announced his retirement.

I'll admit it – I felt similarly. What was tennis to be without Andre? Sure, we had Roger and Rafa, but it just…..wasn't the same. Tennis purists (I like that term – it's SO descriptive) would say that the tennis world was far better off without Agassi, that he embodied everything that had gone wrong with the sport. What everyone knows but won't admit is that when Andre left, the tour lost some of its sparkle. At least for a while it did.

I think the sparkle is back, and in the form of the best top four the sport has seen in the past two decades. Individually, these guys are interesting, but together they are spectacular. At the number four spot is Andy Murray, and he offers something utterly invaluable. He's unique. Everything from his look to his game is…well…unlike anything else we have right now. He doesn't grind, or ball-bash. He doesn't win matches with his serve, and he doesn't beat opponents with his defense. No, he wins because he plays smart, inventive tennis with flair and imagination. When things are going well for the young Scot you can practically see strategy in every swing of the racquet.

Novak Djokovic rests securely at number three in the world. He has now cemented his role as the controversial one. Everything from his medical time outs to the fateful night he decided it would be a good idea to give all of Arthur Ashe Stadium a piece of his mind, gains him attention, both good and bad. Even his family draws a strong reaction in people. The fact is that most people either love or hate Nole, which is probably not all that comfortable for him, but is fantastic for the sport itself.

Roger Federer is the gold standard, the tennis player to end all tennis players. Let's put it this way – there is a reason he is sometimes called JesusFed. Roger Federer has done things with a tennis racquet that people once dismissed as urban legend. Have you ever heard of a dipping half-volley winner hit from just in front of the baseline? Roger has. He is the consummate gentleman in a gentleman's sport. He plays with finesse, style and panache. Oh, and off court? He's so well-loved by his fellow players that some of them consider themselves fans of his. Watching him play is as aesthetically pleasing as watching a choreographed dance. And last but not least, world number one Rafael Nadal. He is almost everything that Federer is not. Rafa wins his matches through a combination of imposing his impressive physicality, exhausting defense, steely concentration – and sometimes he wins because he flat-out refuses to lose. If Roger is the quintessential tennis player, Rafa breaks all the molds. Federer glides around the court, Rafa stampedes. Nadal doesn't simply hit forehand winners. He pummels his opponents until they can barely drag themselves to the shot that finally blasts past them. Rafa doesn't even look like a tennis player. Rippling muscles that bulge out of sleeveless shirts, and a literally famous derrière? Certainly doesn't sound like the tennis I used to know. And I forgot something – he's a gentleman too. A really nice one.

I still like Andre Agassi. Maybe he'll always be my favorite all-time player…it's hard to say for sure. But I know this – I no longer watch the first round of a tournament and say to myself "I really wish Andre were here..." There is too much delight in tennis right now for me to wish it anything but what it is.

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Comments

great one..loved it..thanks

janhavi , 10/9/08 8:54 AM

Oh my, the day I never thought I'd see...Ms. Murray has (sort of/kind of/maybe has) replaced Andre Agassi at the all-time top spot. ;)

I wondered how the ATP would rebound once he left- it was a huge loss, both marketing and excitement-wise. You have detailed it perfectly here, and I agree the top four have erased any concerns about tennis interest waning.

With special respect paid to Nadal of course, who is a regular fixture in the mainstream press now. Like Federer before him- once that happens, it pays major dividends for the sport.

Wonderful work, como siempre.

DdV , 10/9/08 4:38 PM

Nice article. We really are lucky to be watching tennis now. We've got such great players with such markedly different styles. There's potential rivalries everywhere! And it's nice to see tennis get more attention in the sports and mainstream media.

lyta1138 , 10/9/08 6:46 PM

tennis stardom is cyclical. 20 years from now everybody will be saying they dont miss roger federer any more because a new generation of talented youngsters will have taken over.

sheila , 10/9/08 6:49 PM

That goes for all sports. Except maybe golf where you can be 75 years old and overweight but still among the best players in the world.

EinarBerg , 10/9/08 7:08 PM

It is notable the Agassi was big enough TO leave a hole. Sampras, for as great as he was, did not hurt the marketability of the sport when he retired. Andre did.

cherylmurray , 10/9/08 8:15 PM

Loved the article, Ms. Murray! Andre is one of the reasons I fell in love with the sport too. Every time the Andre-the-bus-driver watch advert (Longines?) is on telly, it warms the cockles of my twenty two year old heart.
You're right, it's tough to really feel the loss when you have the top 4 making things so exciting! They're all fierce competitors and potentially great players- their distinct characters charge the season with a different sort of energy. As you said; there's Fed the 'gentleman', Rafa the 'never-say-die competitor', Nole the 'enfant terrible' and Andy, the 'don't-talk-about-my-mum strategist'. Exciting times for ATP fans!

In response to your comment, I must say I was quite amused. Sampras is one of the tennis greats, but his tendency to glower wasn't nearly as marketable as Andre's winsome smile and abundance of charm. Andre has the advantage of being the wild, come-back kid. The one who had more heart than anybody else- just writing that makes me smile- and it showed in his game. Not even Sampras could compete with that.

rabidmonkeywrench , 10/10/08 8:40 AM

aNDRE is the REAL "total" tennis player. ON court, he won matches as well as entertained the fans, not to mention broke records,too . OFF court, he's a gentleman, champion of good cause, and a great family man. He's simply a role model.
He'll be missed for as long as there is tennis.

agf25agf , 10/10/08 10:01 AM

Andre was like a package..he played fantastic tennis( wish he couldve won more slams though) and he was a complete entertainer..i watched him only in his last few years..but he was amazing..i always found myself rooting for him.

janhavi , 10/10/08 10:52 AM

andre agassi is still my favourite player, he was a great inspiration, and everyone else has already pretty much echoed out my thoughts about andre, i still miss him but nowadays, the top 4 mens players are just providing great tennis, the spark is back, in fact i watch every match i can that involves rafa, fed, djoko and murray, these 4 are all so unique.

i particularly love the current rivalries in this order:
1. rafa/djoko [2 guys who play their hearts out against one another, djoko has no fear when playing rafa which is great to see, but djoko needs to improve his endurance.]
2. rafa/fed [wimbledon 2008...ring any bells, what a match!!!, and not to mention all the other CLASSIC matches these 2 have played, well except french open 2008, too one-sided for my liking]
3. rafa/murray [murray is just starting to find his range against the big 3, always played close matches against rafa, def deserves to be the 4th ranked player]
4. djoko/murray [too bad they most probably play each other much anymore, since 3rd and 4th can't meet until the finals, and to do that, they will have to beat the big 2- rafa and fed in the semis.]

fed, rafa, murray, djoko- hope to see these 4 guys at the top for the next few years.

ivanovic33 , 10/10/08 11:28 AM

correction to my previous post:

4. djoko/murray [too bad they most probably won't play each other much anymore, since 3rd and 4th can't meet until the finals, and to do that, they will have to beat the big 2- rafa and fed in the semis.]

im a fan of the big 4 in the following order:
1. fed [plays with such grace and class, he is very talented, he will surely bounce back next year and get to slam no.15 or maybe even 16, would be nice to see him winning french open just once]
2. rafa [he is a perfectionist lol, water bottles, the whole routine before each serve, but got to admire that mental toughness he possesses, if such a thing could be on sale, id buy out the whole store, i can see him winning at least 6 french opens, but i would love to see him win aus open or us open]
3. murray [he is just different, his game can cause a headache for anyone, he doesn't just hit the ball with a lot of power, he ACTUALLY thinks, the different angles and paces, and then he can unleash a big winner, a reliable serve, he will win a grand slam i think in the next 2 years, just needs more experience]
4. djoko [he has his controversial moments, im not really a fan, but he is a good player and definitely deserves the no.3 spot, i think he could improve his volleys and definitely needs to try and improve his endurance, eg. hamburg semis against rafa, he was exhausted in the 3rd set-tried too many risky drop shots...will win more grand slams in the future, only 21, so still a young guy]

ivanovic33 , 10/10/08 11:45 AM

I will always miss Boris Becker,Pat Cash,Pat Rafter & Andre Agassi.

milivice , 10/20/08 4:29 PM

Oh! I definitely miss this guy! It will be a long time before I can say "I don't miss Andre Agassi anymore". Top four are great but Andre was in a category of his own. If he played my favourite player today, I would be torn as to who to I would support. Just such a lovely guy.

homos , 11/26/08 4:10 PM

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