Tennis players no longer get to rest after the first game of a
set, yet there was Andre Agassi at Wimbledon on Thursday, sitting
in his chair and sipping his drink until the chair umpire leaned
over to tell him to move along.
Hey, give an old guy a break, would ya? Facing another
backward-cap-wearing, twentysomething opponent on the hottest day
of the tournament, the 36-year-old Agassi eliminated Andreas Seppi
of Italy 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-4 to reach the third round.
Agassi's back was feeling better and his game was looking better
than in his opening match, both of which are important given the
next task at his last Wimbledon: an old guard vs. new guard
showdown against French Open champion Rafael Nadal.
"It's been too long, as far as I'm concerned, since I've felt
good and was in a place where I could at least enjoy what's going
on out there," said Agassi, the oldest man to reach Wimbledon's
third round since Jimmy Connors was 38 in 1991.
"That's been my goal - to find my game so I can at least bring
it. Today I was a lot closer to that. So I do have high hopes for
my next match."
The No. 2-ranked Nadal lost the first two sets and twice was two
points from defeat Thursday against Robert Kendrick, an American
qualifier. But Nadal gutted out a 6-7 (4), 3-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5, 6-4
victory.
"Very tough," Nadal said. "He was serving unbelievable."
Kendrick pounded 28 aces and played old-fashioned
serve-and-volley tennis. When he dove for a volley winner to send
the third set into a tiebreaker, what seemed highly unlikely before
the match suddenly seemed possible: Nadal, 4-0 against No. 1 Roger
Federer this year, might lose to someone ranked 237th and not even
listed in the ATP Tour guide.
But Kendrick's botched backhand volley at 1-1 in the tiebreaker
gave Nadal an opening.
"I knew he wasn't going to give up," said Kendrick, who had
right wrist surgery last year. "He's just got so much fight in
him."
Now Nadal will face a very different type of game Saturday when
he plays Agassi, who loves to dictate points from the baseline.
"It's a nice match for everybody, no?" said Nadal, 1-0 against
Agassi. "It's his last Wimbledon. I hope I'm going to have
more."
In the first two sets against the 68th-ranked Seppi, Agassi won
12 of 19 points that lasted at least 10 strokes. He saved seven of
eight break points he faced overall. And he repeatedly tracked down
Seppi's drop shots, moving well.
"Today was a great sign for me," said Agassi, who played only
eight matches in 2006 because of ankle and back injuries before
coming to Wimbledon.
The victory was Agassi's 222nd in Grand Slam play, tying him
with Ivan Lendl for second in the Open era behind Connors' 233.
When it ended, Agassi stopped to sign autographs for some of the
spectators who've been treating him to raucous standing ovations
before and after he plays.
He announced last weekend he'll quit after the U.S. Open, and
the mutual adoration between Agassi and the fans has been tangible.
Several have given unsolicited advice when they're close enough to
offer it.
"'Don't retire' has been the common one," Agassi said. "I keep
telling them, 'Talk to my family about that. Talk to my body about
that.'"
But he didn't appear bothered as the temperature rose into the
70s for the first time this week; a line judge working the
Nadal-Kendrick match fainted and was taken off Centre Court in a
wheelchair.
Nadal, as always, betrayed not a shred of fatigue as they played
more than 3 1/2 hours, sprinting to his chair at changeovers and
pumping a fist after nearly every point he won, including when
Kendrick double-faulted to get broken to 6-5 in the fourth set and
3-2 in the fifth. After a passing winner put him up 5-1 in the
third-set tiebreaker, Nadal dropped to his knees - like Bjorn Borg
used to when he'd win the championship.
"Grass would probably be Andre's best surface to play him on
these days," said No. 3 Andy Roddick, who beat Florian Mayer in
straight sets. "I'm as excited as anybody. That's going to be a
great one."
When Nadal served trailing 5-4 in the fourth set, Kendrick was two
points away from winning at 30-all - when Nadal hit an overhead
winner - and at deuce - when Nadal hit a forehand that Kendrick
thought might have been out.
"Nadal finds a way to win," said Nick Bollettieri, who's coached
all sorts of tennis stars, including Agassi when he won Wimbledon
in 1992. "He wears you down. He never gives up."
Three-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams found a way to win
even though she was in the same predicament as Nadal: two points
from a stunning exit.
Williams lost the first set and was down 5-2 in the second
against Lisa Raymond. When Raymond served for the match at 5-3, she
got to 30-15 - and that was about it. Suddenly hitting nothing but
winners, Williams won 34 of the next 39 points, including 18 in a
row, to prevail 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-2.
"I felt that it would be such a shame to leave in the second
round," said Williams, who compiled a 49-13 edge in winners.
"There's really no time to get frustrated or upset. You just need
to play your way out of it."
Hmmm. Good advice for Marat Safin.
The two-time major also was involved in a big comeback, but in
the wrong direction, wasting a two-set lead amid a lot of muttering
and cursing on his way to a 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 loss to No.
10 Fernando Gonzalez.
Safin engaged in lengthy discussions about line calls with chair
umpire Pascal Maria, who at one point responded, "Don't take it
personally." Safin's retort: "I am."
(AP via China Daily June 30, 2006)