"Image is everything..."

Growing up as a kid, I sincerely have (at least) one thing I would like to thank my parents for - tennis. It's the only way I've truly encountered competitiveness, aggressiveness, and camaraderie simultaneously. I constantly remember trying to be the best every week for my Sunday ladder matches. I recall wanting to throw it all away because I never rose to my own almighty standards - how shocking, right? Anyway, to say that tennis played a major role in my adolescent life is an understatement. While I always anticipated each spring in high school because of competitive tennis, I still realized that something like this was about to end and that I'd have a hard way of trying to renew something I had such passion for.

All that aside, I have to admit that I'm getting quite reminiscent of the recent headlines about Andre Agassi's retirement after this year's US Open. Growing up in New York, two things that always went together were tennis and summer, without a doubt. There was never separating the two. And on top of that, nothing really signalled the end of summer like the US Open did. And, if you're a tennis fan/player/etc. in the metropolitan New York area, you know that the US Open is your tournament. There's a part of you that really gets caught up in it and you really can't explain it to someone else who doesn't have the same level of intensity as you with regard to this topic. Being separated from that environment for six years now, I can't deny that that part of me has definitely taken a backseat and I have passed it over for other summer happenings... mainly the first few weeks of the fall semester. Now that I'm finally out of school, I can go back to where my energy once was.

Ok, long story short - I'm really feeling this year's US Open because of the whole Agassi thing. There was a time in American tennis that it was dominated by two figures that, despite whatever rankings said at the time, never disappeared from the thoughts of American and/or international tennis fans - the duel that was Agassi vs. Pete Sampras. I grew up a Sampras kid, ever since he won his first major at Flushing Meadows in 1990. By default, I had to despise Agassi's overexpressive style and showmanship... and skill. That's what made a rivalry - and that's what lasted for the duration of the 1990s. It seems as if every generation has some kind of tennis rivalry existing and this was mine. Currently, there is nothing resembling the sort. It makes you wonder if tennis in the United States is even a priority anymore. All anyone hears about is Andy Roddick and that's the be-all-end-all of American tennis, which, if you ask me, is sad. Granted, Roddick's play is dominant, but there is no one else other there to provide some kind of unifying element in this country concerning tennis. Agassi/Sampras did exactly that. Sure, others like Michael Chang and Jim Courier added to the mix of American tennis and made it even more dominant of a force in the world, but Agassi/Sampras reigned supreme. And this year's US Open truly signifies the end of that era, even if Sampras retired years ago. One of the critical figures of my childhood has gotten older, getting rusty (really, knowing his career, is that even applicable to Andre?), and is hanging up his racket to put a priority on family life and probably the [GASP!] senior circuit of men's tennis in this country.

I mean, if you really want proof of the impact of the Agassi/Sampras rivalry on the culture of our society during its hay-day, look at this commercial from 1995 that features the two dueling it out in the middle of a New York street and the New York City crowd just soaking it up:

(Note: YouTube won't allow embedding of the clip onto my site for some reason, but the link is here, and I highly suggest you watching it... its like a microcosm of their relationship with themselves and the fans as well)

I just have so many memories of the US Open and I really wish I could've been able to make it there just once. I went during one of the free practice sessions the year the Arthur Ashe Stadium opened and I was able to witness Sampras and Courier warming up in there as the crew was putting the finishing touches on the complex... but I wish I was able to appreciate the true atmosphere of the event. I remember that whenever my family would drive into the city from Long Island, we would always pass the site of the World's Fair, the National Tennis Center, and Shea Stadium. I would always marvel at the size of the then-center court, Louis Armstrong Stadium. And then to actually be within the newest, largest tennis stadium EVER (well, to me) left me awe-struck and speechless. Moments like that you'll never forget.

And then there are the players that make a tournament like that so memorable. Men like Boris Becker, Michael Chang, Tomas Muster, Stefan Edberg, Jimmy Connors, Goran Ivanisevic, etc. and women like a young Lindsay Davenport, Gabriela Sabatini, Monica Seles, Jennifer Capriati, etc. had so many crazy matches that it really is hard to pick out some defining ones. But as a kid, I soaked it all in and had my daydreams of playing there one day and wanting to be a ballboy for the tournament. There is without a doubt that, even though I was against him in every aspect, that Andre Agassi played a role in all of this. Without his presence in the battles between he and Sampras, there probably wouldn't have been much of an American scene in tennis during the 1990s. But it's always this time of the year that really forces me to want to play as much as possible and still aim to be just like Sampras or return a serve just like Agassi. It's just hard to believe that a formative figure such as Agassi is going to be gone from the competitive tennis scene for good.

For his career, for his attitude, for his rebelliousness, and for everything that I just couldn't stand (especially those Nick Bollettieri instructional videos!), I salute you, Mr. Agassi, and I am quite appreciative of what you have offered to the tennis world and to this country's tennis scene.