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Andre the Giant
Aug. 6, 2006. 08:58 AM
GARTH WOOLSEY
Hair today. Gone tomorrow.
How trite. But as Andre Agassi prepares for retirement, also how true.
Agassi has been the face, and the hairstyle, of men's tennis for two
decades. From mullet to buzz cut, he has been the long and short of
a sport that rises and falls with the popularity of its stars.
Canadian tennis fans have watched Agassi grow up during his visits here
over the years and hoped to bid farewell to the 36-year-old native of
Las Vegas at the Rogers Cup this week. But Agassi, who will retire
following the U.S. Open later this month, pulled out of the Toronto
event on Friday after an embarrassing defeat in Washington last week
to a player ranked 246th in the world. Agassi said earlier in the
season he doesn't want to play when he's not competitive.
Agassi has always been about style, but it is underlying substance
that has allowed him to endure:
He is one of only five men ever to win all four Grand Slam events
(eight in total, plus seven runner-up finishes).
He has an Olympic gold medal from the Atlanta Games of 1996, plus a
30-6 record in Davis Cup play for the U.S.
His 60 titles (seventh most in the Open era) include three in 14
appearances at Canada's premier event - over Ivan Lendl in 1992,
Jason Stoltenberg in 1994 and Pete Sampras in 1995. Last summer in
Montreal he lost the final, beaten by Rafael Nadal.
Asked recently what advice he might have for himself if he was starting
over again, Agassi replied with the sort of gentle good humour that
has contributed to his immense popularity: "First, tell him to cut
his hair. Then, laugh at him because he would have a long road ahead,
but I would wish him well."
Ah, yes, the hair. It was '80s hair, the kind you'd find on stage
with a glam rock band, not on the tennis court, which back then was
still the preserve of mostly whites if not all whites. Agassi wore
denim shorts over spandex, wildly colourful tops, crazy headbands,
baseball caps (to hide the creeping baldness, it would turn out) and
(egad!) black socks with his white or whatever shoes. He lived on a
bowling-alley diet of cheeseburgers and Mountain Dew. But the girls
and the grandmas and the advertisers loved him - he was a natural
for the Canon Rebel camera ads that boasted: "Image is everything."
"He was very flamboyant and he cultivated that image, and the teenagers
were really drawn to it," Jim Courier, a French and Australian Open
champion, told reporters recently. "It was exciting to be around as
another player; it was exciting to come to a tournament and have the
kids screaming. That kind of energy is what you dream of playing in
front of."
His long-time trainer Gil Reyes said last year of Agassi's
transformation into consummate professional and family man: "Andre
has chiselled away the things from his character he wished to get
out of the picture. He had to prove his substance, and he has."
One of his children with Steffi Graf (herself a courts legend),
5-year-old Jaden Gil, is named in honour of the trainer. The
Agassi-Graf doubles team has also produced a daughter, 3-year-old
Jaz Elle. Spending more time with the family is another reason for
the retirement timing. All kids, not just his own, seem to love him -
one of those guys they take to instantly. It makes all kinds of sense
that his major charitable work is with a school for underprivileged
kids in Las Vegas.
Before Graf there was a match-made-in-Hollywood marriage to actress
Brooke Shields. 'Way back when there was a dalliance, too, with a
much older Barbara Streisand, who made the gossip as well as sports
pages with observations like: "He plays like a Zen master out there."
His critics, and there were a few, said Agassi at times seemed
to be on another planet if not another plane. Agassi was groomed
from birth (shades of Tiger Woods) by an obsessive father, Mike, an
ethnic Armenian who had himself competed in the Olympics, for Iran
in boxing. But young Andre had to work for his success and bottomed
out at least twice in his career.
A pro when barely 16, a winner of $2 million (U.S.) after only 43
tournaments, his first Grand Slam final in the books in 1990 and his
first win (Wimbledon) in 1992, Agassi seemed to have the tennis world
by the rat-tail. But he was having growing pains and his confidence
hit a low in 1993 and into '94, when he came back from a serious wrist
injury and a severely beaten-up ego. Winning in Canada in 1994 would
prove to be an important boost and a repeat in Montreal in '95 was,
too. He was mobbed by tennis fans, especially younger ones, at that
tournament. "When you take the time to be with them one-on-one or
in a group like that ... a smile on their face is a great reward,"
he told the Toronto Star then. "It's different with adults. Adults
get on your nerves."
Again in 1997, a year after his Olympic high and into his glittery
marriage to Shields, Agassi lost focus, fitness and confidence and
plunged to No. 141 in the rankings. A decade on and Agassi appears
comfortable in his (slightly) wrinkled skin.
He finished the year ranked No. 1 only once, in 1999 (after rising
from the depths, phoenix-like), winning both the French and U.S.
Opens - an indication of the strength of competition through his
career, spanning Connors, McEnroe, Lendl, Edberg, Becker, Sampras,
Courier, Chang, Federer, et al. But only Jimmy Connors finished in
the top 10 as many times as Agassi - 16.
His longer-term success has been based upon relentless training and
a competitive drive that simply wears down opponents, combined with
one of the best returns of service ever and an ability to not only
play from the baseline but mostly from just within it, employing a
deadly quick set-up.
Brad Gilbert recently asked Agassi to help him train Scottish
up-and-comer Andy Murray. "He will be able to see how hard Andre
still works at 36," said Gilbert. "He trains like an animal."
"He's aggressive, non-stop," Roger Federer said at Wimbledon this
year. "That's his game. That you have to admire."
Last week in Washington, D.C., at a tournament he had won five
times, Agassi was eliminated in the first round by qualifier Andrea
Stoppini. Agassi broke his racquet in frustration while afterward
Stoppini, 26 and ranked No. 246, said he'd first seen Agassi play on
TV when he was a kid. "He had more hair then."
The hair, always the hair.
"He's done wonders for our sport right around the world," said
Lleyton Hewitt shortly after Agassi announced his retirement plans at
Wimbledon, where he lost to Nadal in the round of 32. "Out of anyone,
Andre Agassi, everyone knows him around the world even if you're not
a huge tennis fan."
Andy Roddick: "Andre's probably the biggest crossover star tennis
has ever had."
That's saying a lot, putting him in the company of the likes of
Arthur Ashe. But Courier has said Agassi's good works set him apart:
"Arthur Ashe is at the peak as far as someone transcending the game
to make a difference in the world. I think Andre is climbing up to
join him on that Mount Rushmore."
Part of the appeal comes from Agassi's palpable openness, a willingness
to look people in the eye and cameras in the lens. His aura is
all-inclusive and when he delivers his trademark end-of-match bow
and kisses it is hard not to feel it is just for you.
A man who has won more than $31 million (U.S.), he still has the
common touch, qualities that emerged after his own struggles led to
a rededication to the basics.
Not all athletes go out gracefully or on their own terms. Nothing
would be better than one more win at Flushing Meadows. At the very
least, he seems determined to leave while he is still a force.
"I'd rather people have that conversation - saying, `He shouldn't
stop!' - than the alternative of playing through a time where it's
as painful for everyone else as it is for me," Agassi said on one of
the stops on the summer's farewell tour. "It's a good situation to be
in if my game is meriting that sort of concern (prompting people to
suggest he reconsider). I feel comfortable with my decision. ... The
last 20 years on the tennis court has all been practice for me for
tomorrow. I've spent a lifetime on the tennis court preparing myself
for the next battle."
The abiding image of Agassi will have colour in it. Intense colour and
penetrating looks. Early in his career he refused to play Wimbledon
because he didn't want to wear the all whites. He didn't want to
be a square peg in a round hole. But when he finally showed up, he
wore white. They loved him and the feelings were mutual. All these
years later, Agassi is establishment, the soft-spoken, been-there,
done-that personification of an era of tennis that is ending.
"I'm not really worried about retirement," he has said of these final
few weeks. "I don't know quite what to expect, but being bored is
not on the list."
Aug. 6, 2006. 08:58 AM
GARTH WOOLSEY
Hair today. Gone tomorrow.
How trite. But as Andre Agassi prepares for retirement, also how true.
Agassi has been the face, and the hairstyle, of men's tennis for two
decades. From mullet to buzz cut, he has been the long and short of
a sport that rises and falls with the popularity of its stars.
Canadian tennis fans have watched Agassi grow up during his visits here
over the years and hoped to bid farewell to the 36-year-old native of
Las Vegas at the Rogers Cup this week. But Agassi, who will retire
following the U.S. Open later this month, pulled out of the Toronto
event on Friday after an embarrassing defeat in Washington last week
to a player ranked 246th in the world. Agassi said earlier in the
season he doesn't want to play when he's not competitive.
Agassi has always been about style, but it is underlying substance
that has allowed him to endure:
He is one of only five men ever to win all four Grand Slam events
(eight in total, plus seven runner-up finishes).
He has an Olympic gold medal from the Atlanta Games of 1996, plus a
30-6 record in Davis Cup play for the U.S.
His 60 titles (seventh most in the Open era) include three in 14
appearances at Canada's premier event - over Ivan Lendl in 1992,
Jason Stoltenberg in 1994 and Pete Sampras in 1995. Last summer in
Montreal he lost the final, beaten by Rafael Nadal.
Asked recently what advice he might have for himself if he was starting
over again, Agassi replied with the sort of gentle good humour that
has contributed to his immense popularity: "First, tell him to cut
his hair. Then, laugh at him because he would have a long road ahead,
but I would wish him well."
Ah, yes, the hair. It was '80s hair, the kind you'd find on stage
with a glam rock band, not on the tennis court, which back then was
still the preserve of mostly whites if not all whites. Agassi wore
denim shorts over spandex, wildly colourful tops, crazy headbands,
baseball caps (to hide the creeping baldness, it would turn out) and
(egad!) black socks with his white or whatever shoes. He lived on a
bowling-alley diet of cheeseburgers and Mountain Dew. But the girls
and the grandmas and the advertisers loved him - he was a natural
for the Canon Rebel camera ads that boasted: "Image is everything."
"He was very flamboyant and he cultivated that image, and the teenagers
were really drawn to it," Jim Courier, a French and Australian Open
champion, told reporters recently. "It was exciting to be around as
another player; it was exciting to come to a tournament and have the
kids screaming. That kind of energy is what you dream of playing in
front of."
His long-time trainer Gil Reyes said last year of Agassi's
transformation into consummate professional and family man: "Andre
has chiselled away the things from his character he wished to get
out of the picture. He had to prove his substance, and he has."
One of his children with Steffi Graf (herself a courts legend),
5-year-old Jaden Gil, is named in honour of the trainer. The
Agassi-Graf doubles team has also produced a daughter, 3-year-old
Jaz Elle. Spending more time with the family is another reason for
the retirement timing. All kids, not just his own, seem to love him -
one of those guys they take to instantly. It makes all kinds of sense
that his major charitable work is with a school for underprivileged
kids in Las Vegas.
Before Graf there was a match-made-in-Hollywood marriage to actress
Brooke Shields. 'Way back when there was a dalliance, too, with a
much older Barbara Streisand, who made the gossip as well as sports
pages with observations like: "He plays like a Zen master out there."
His critics, and there were a few, said Agassi at times seemed
to be on another planet if not another plane. Agassi was groomed
from birth (shades of Tiger Woods) by an obsessive father, Mike, an
ethnic Armenian who had himself competed in the Olympics, for Iran
in boxing. But young Andre had to work for his success and bottomed
out at least twice in his career.
A pro when barely 16, a winner of $2 million (U.S.) after only 43
tournaments, his first Grand Slam final in the books in 1990 and his
first win (Wimbledon) in 1992, Agassi seemed to have the tennis world
by the rat-tail. But he was having growing pains and his confidence
hit a low in 1993 and into '94, when he came back from a serious wrist
injury and a severely beaten-up ego. Winning in Canada in 1994 would
prove to be an important boost and a repeat in Montreal in '95 was,
too. He was mobbed by tennis fans, especially younger ones, at that
tournament. "When you take the time to be with them one-on-one or
in a group like that ... a smile on their face is a great reward,"
he told the Toronto Star then. "It's different with adults. Adults
get on your nerves."
Again in 1997, a year after his Olympic high and into his glittery
marriage to Shields, Agassi lost focus, fitness and confidence and
plunged to No. 141 in the rankings. A decade on and Agassi appears
comfortable in his (slightly) wrinkled skin.
He finished the year ranked No. 1 only once, in 1999 (after rising
from the depths, phoenix-like), winning both the French and U.S.
Opens - an indication of the strength of competition through his
career, spanning Connors, McEnroe, Lendl, Edberg, Becker, Sampras,
Courier, Chang, Federer, et al. But only Jimmy Connors finished in
the top 10 as many times as Agassi - 16.
His longer-term success has been based upon relentless training and
a competitive drive that simply wears down opponents, combined with
one of the best returns of service ever and an ability to not only
play from the baseline but mostly from just within it, employing a
deadly quick set-up.
Brad Gilbert recently asked Agassi to help him train Scottish
up-and-comer Andy Murray. "He will be able to see how hard Andre
still works at 36," said Gilbert. "He trains like an animal."
"He's aggressive, non-stop," Roger Federer said at Wimbledon this
year. "That's his game. That you have to admire."
Last week in Washington, D.C., at a tournament he had won five
times, Agassi was eliminated in the first round by qualifier Andrea
Stoppini. Agassi broke his racquet in frustration while afterward
Stoppini, 26 and ranked No. 246, said he'd first seen Agassi play on
TV when he was a kid. "He had more hair then."
The hair, always the hair.
"He's done wonders for our sport right around the world," said
Lleyton Hewitt shortly after Agassi announced his retirement plans at
Wimbledon, where he lost to Nadal in the round of 32. "Out of anyone,
Andre Agassi, everyone knows him around the world even if you're not
a huge tennis fan."
Andy Roddick: "Andre's probably the biggest crossover star tennis
has ever had."
That's saying a lot, putting him in the company of the likes of
Arthur Ashe. But Courier has said Agassi's good works set him apart:
"Arthur Ashe is at the peak as far as someone transcending the game
to make a difference in the world. I think Andre is climbing up to
join him on that Mount Rushmore."
Part of the appeal comes from Agassi's palpable openness, a willingness
to look people in the eye and cameras in the lens. His aura is
all-inclusive and when he delivers his trademark end-of-match bow
and kisses it is hard not to feel it is just for you.
A man who has won more than $31 million (U.S.), he still has the
common touch, qualities that emerged after his own struggles led to
a rededication to the basics.
Not all athletes go out gracefully or on their own terms. Nothing
would be better than one more win at Flushing Meadows. At the very
least, he seems determined to leave while he is still a force.
"I'd rather people have that conversation - saying, `He shouldn't
stop!' - than the alternative of playing through a time where it's
as painful for everyone else as it is for me," Agassi said on one of
the stops on the summer's farewell tour. "It's a good situation to be
in if my game is meriting that sort of concern (prompting people to
suggest he reconsider). I feel comfortable with my decision. ... The
last 20 years on the tennis court has all been practice for me for
tomorrow. I've spent a lifetime on the tennis court preparing myself
for the next battle."
The abiding image of Agassi will have colour in it. Intense colour and
penetrating looks. Early in his career he refused to play Wimbledon
because he didn't want to wear the all whites. He didn't want to
be a square peg in a round hole. But when he finally showed up, he
wore white. They loved him and the feelings were mutual. All these
years later, Agassi is establishment, the soft-spoken, been-there,
done-that personification of an era of tennis that is ending.
"I'm not really worried about retirement," he has said of these final
few weeks. "I don't know quite what to expect, but being bored is
not on the list."