[Idsynchrono_24]

There were a lot of points where it looked like he could spring back against Becker but it just didn't happen. Still, he showed a lot of heart out there today and it's a sad thing to see him walk off the court. It would have been really something if he could have made it to tomorrow's match.

 

[virometal]

Yep, he just got old. Happens to the best of us. The last great American generation is now gone - Sampras, Agassi, Courier, Chang....

.

My favorite Agassi moment was his domination of Sampras in the 1995 Aus. Open. Pete was always better, but that day was the best I ever say Andre play.

Sampras was kind of boring. His game wasn't but it was hard rooting for him during the rivalry. Agassi has that humanity about him - the comebacks, the marriages. He both failed and succeeded grandly; great everyman qualities.

 

[concrete_d]

Sad day... I was really hoping for another big run, but the win over Baghdatis was way more than you could expect out of Agassi.

Maybe it's good in the long run that he went out earlier, though. All those cortisone injections can't be good for long term health, and if he needed one after every match, I would be really worried if he made it deep into the second week.

 

[doctorjuggles]

Irrespective of how far he made it in this year's US Open, the guy is a legend, an icon and a true ambassador.
Anyone in the UK who has today's Observer, check out the piece on him in the Observer Sport Monthly, it's excellent.

Tennis will be a little less colourful with him gone, but it's a lot more colourful now that he's been and gone.
It's rare for me to care so much, but he's one sportsman I wish never had to get old, I'd rather he was around forever.

 

[Romanee]

I forgot to record it!!!

Anyone know if/when there might be a rebroadcast???

 

[dwin902]

An amazing match and an amazing player. Be sure to poke take a look at some of the great photos taken of him today. My favorite is on the blog. Farewell, Andre.

 

[purk]

Yep....I will miss Andre. From the begining of the first set, I noticed that he was hitting the ball with a much slower pace. His serve was not as powerful as the first two matches, and his movement was far from his best. After the first 2 sets, I suspect that he won't make it to the 4th round. Anyway, we will have Federer for the next 5 or 6 years, so I don't think it won't be too bad. I will sure miss Andre!

 

[kramer5150]

Class act.
You can be a champion and a gentleman at the same time.

Following his career as he matured from snot-nosed brat to a true deserving champion has been one of my top-5 fave sporting events.

Yeah... you could see he just didn't have the sting on a lot of his shots, and he was frequently having to make the "extra" shot to close out the points. Something he never had to do at his physical peak. IMHO hip / lower back injuries are brutal... just ... slow, agonizing lingering torture. I've had back problems off/on all my life and managed to limp through matches and league games... popping advils every other hour just to stand up and get out of my car.

A true class act that will be missed.

 

[will75]

Kramer nailed it. He wasn't a role model type at first but really turned into one by the end. It was the natural arc of character broadcasted over 21 years.

 

[doctorjuggles]

Quote:

Originally Posted by will75 Kramer nailed it. He wasn't a role model type at first but really turned into one by the end. It was the natural arc of character broadcasted over 21 years.

Yep. It's the very fact that he was an anti-role model that turned into a role model that made his metamorphisis so compelling, makes his story so unique and interesting.

He was the rebel we wanted to be when we were growing up with him, and he's the person we want to become now that we're grown too.

His post match messages were interesting, heartfelt and extremely wise.