RadekStepanekTheKing
Hall of Fame
Agassi ready for new challenges of life
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Nostalgia strikes Andre Agassi at the oddest moments these days, but the eight-time Grand Slam champion is finding his impending retirement from tennis easier to cope with than he expected.
"The last 20 years on the tennis court have always been a preparation for tomorrow," Agassi said on Monday. "I look forward to not 'having' to do things. It's going to be a lot more on my terms, what I want my life to be."
Free of regrets, Agassi will begin his 17th and final appearance at the ATP Washington Classic here on Tuesday confident that his best is yet to come as he prepares for new challenges as a businessman, philanthropist and father.
"Am I sad? Yeah, there's a lot of it I'm going to miss," Agassi said. "I'll miss the practices with people being up by the fence. I will miss the people.
"But really, if you do it right, there's an evolution at work. It's an evolution I believe takes on deeper roots. I really believe it's going to grow into something better than this."
The 36-year-old American has spent half his life as a pro tennis player. Memories slam into him at the oddest times, such as wiping sweat during a practice break or seeing young fans press faces against a fence to watch him.
"It's hard to ignore the nostalgia that exists. It hits me at those sort of unique moments that take me by surprise," Agassi said. "I just put my head down and remember that it's still all about the work."
Agassi plans to retire after the US Open, hoping to improve upon a runner-up showing last year to top-ranked Roger Federer but knowing his best days as a player are behind him.
"I anticipated it being more difficult," Agassi said. "It's not just hitting a ball. I'm saying goodbye to all the people I've done this with, from fans to peers on so many levels. I don't take that lightly at all.
"I've pushed myself a lot over the past four years to stay at this until I felt this is not something I can do at the highest level anymore. I'm going to spend the rest of my life taking this all in."
Agassi leaves the sport with no regrets, saying his 1999 French Open triumph to complete a career Grand Slam assured him of that.
"When I won the French Open, at that moment I knew there were no more regrets for me in tennis. To win all the greatest events in my sport, that means a lot to me," Agassi said.
"Achieving the things I have, it has been surreal. It leaves you extremely at peace. It's a bit crazy to think about winning all these tournaments. It shocked me then and it shocks me even more now.
"You don't have to win. You just have to pour yourself into it to be worth it. I have given all of myself. Sometimes it hasn't been pretty. Sometimes you have seen the worst of me. But it has always been all of me."
Tennis and his charity foundation for youth will be part of Agassi's future, although for now his focus is upon making the most of his final matches.
"Giving back to the sport is going to be very important to me. I don't want to just walk away from it. It has been a great part of my life," Agassi said.
"I will have more time to get more hands on to what has been built. I have many challenges ahead of me. It's going to be an interesting transition but one I'm very much looking forward to.
"My commitment is to every day keep the sport and everyone around me better off for giving me their time."
Agassi looked back with pride upon his rise from boyhood to stardom before a global audience, a journey that includes his marriage to 22-time Grand Slam champion Steffi Graf and being a father to son Jaden, 4, and daughter Jaz, 2.
"It fueled me to look at myself in the mirror a lot earlier. I've considered it a blessing," he said. "You have two ways to go when you face yourself. To survive it is one thing. To thrive on it is another. I chose to thrive on it."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/2006073...si_060731204121
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Nostalgia strikes Andre Agassi at the oddest moments these days, but the eight-time Grand Slam champion is finding his impending retirement from tennis easier to cope with than he expected.
"The last 20 years on the tennis court have always been a preparation for tomorrow," Agassi said on Monday. "I look forward to not 'having' to do things. It's going to be a lot more on my terms, what I want my life to be."
Free of regrets, Agassi will begin his 17th and final appearance at the ATP Washington Classic here on Tuesday confident that his best is yet to come as he prepares for new challenges as a businessman, philanthropist and father.
"Am I sad? Yeah, there's a lot of it I'm going to miss," Agassi said. "I'll miss the practices with people being up by the fence. I will miss the people.
"But really, if you do it right, there's an evolution at work. It's an evolution I believe takes on deeper roots. I really believe it's going to grow into something better than this."
The 36-year-old American has spent half his life as a pro tennis player. Memories slam into him at the oddest times, such as wiping sweat during a practice break or seeing young fans press faces against a fence to watch him.
"It's hard to ignore the nostalgia that exists. It hits me at those sort of unique moments that take me by surprise," Agassi said. "I just put my head down and remember that it's still all about the work."
Agassi plans to retire after the US Open, hoping to improve upon a runner-up showing last year to top-ranked Roger Federer but knowing his best days as a player are behind him.
"I anticipated it being more difficult," Agassi said. "It's not just hitting a ball. I'm saying goodbye to all the people I've done this with, from fans to peers on so many levels. I don't take that lightly at all.
"I've pushed myself a lot over the past four years to stay at this until I felt this is not something I can do at the highest level anymore. I'm going to spend the rest of my life taking this all in."
Agassi leaves the sport with no regrets, saying his 1999 French Open triumph to complete a career Grand Slam assured him of that.
"When I won the French Open, at that moment I knew there were no more regrets for me in tennis. To win all the greatest events in my sport, that means a lot to me," Agassi said.
"Achieving the things I have, it has been surreal. It leaves you extremely at peace. It's a bit crazy to think about winning all these tournaments. It shocked me then and it shocks me even more now.
"You don't have to win. You just have to pour yourself into it to be worth it. I have given all of myself. Sometimes it hasn't been pretty. Sometimes you have seen the worst of me. But it has always been all of me."
Tennis and his charity foundation for youth will be part of Agassi's future, although for now his focus is upon making the most of his final matches.
"Giving back to the sport is going to be very important to me. I don't want to just walk away from it. It has been a great part of my life," Agassi said.
"I will have more time to get more hands on to what has been built. I have many challenges ahead of me. It's going to be an interesting transition but one I'm very much looking forward to.
"My commitment is to every day keep the sport and everyone around me better off for giving me their time."
Agassi looked back with pride upon his rise from boyhood to stardom before a global audience, a journey that includes his marriage to 22-time Grand Slam champion Steffi Graf and being a father to son Jaden, 4, and daughter Jaz, 2.
"It fueled me to look at myself in the mirror a lot earlier. I've considered it a blessing," he said. "You have two ways to go when you face yourself. To survive it is one thing. To thrive on it is another. I chose to thrive on it."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/2006073...si_060731204121
