He appears to be as much undaunted as he is unseeded. Andre Agassi is saying that he has never in his life hit the ball this well, this confidently, this special time of year. He is saying that he is ready to embrace his immense tennis talent, right here in New York City, right now when professional tennis needs him the most.
Agassi won a five-set match yesterday from Michael Chang, the last person you would expect Agassi to outlast on Labor Day at the United States Open. Chang is the world's foremost grinder. Agassi has been known as one of the tour's great unravelers.
"This is a perfect example of a match I wouldn't have gotten through, even a year ago, especially a year ago, given the kind of year I had," Agassi said after defeating tennis's lovable little brother, 6-1, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.
Given the high of the moment, the defeat of the sixth-seeded human backboard on wheels, Agassi was pleading guilty to all past transgressions. Now that he had again reinvented himself, he announced that he could be the player everyone wants him to be. The anti-Sampras.
His coach this season is Brad Gilbert, about whom Agassi said, "He's spent his whole career winning matches he shouldn't have ever won."
Then, of himself, he admitted: "I have lost a lot of matches in my career that I shouldn't have lost."
As long as Agassi was being so agreeable about this, there have been too many times when you could count on him to bail out on a crucial point, go for some cheesy drop shot or some wild forehand, accompanied by prayer. Reporters made a big deal about a couple of fifth-set shots Agassi hit yesterday -- a running forehand he zipped around the post in the third game when he broke serve and a stunning backhand volley he made to protect his serve in the fourth.
Those points were classic Agassi, athletic brilliance. The real news was his hanging in on the majority of the long rallies, his heavier ground strokes ultimately convincing Chang that he had to force the play. That is not Chang's style. That is not how he wears his opponents down. That was a psychological victory for Agassi, and it showed by the way Chang caved in once he went down a break in the fifth.
If only Agassi could apply this resolve to the rest of his career. When he commented last week how tennis didn't need rock music during changeovers as much as it needed legitimate rivalries, he was eloquent and sincere but he also set himself up to be asked: "So where ya been all this time?"
There is a reason that the player who is arguably the second most-talented is 20th ranked, and it is by no means an excuse. Agassi, not yet 25, has at times resembled John McEnroe in his pre-retirement years, staggering along the fine line between famous person and tennis player, alternately on and off the circuit, with new managers, coaches and other assorted gurus in tow. Except McEnroe at least had seven Grand Slam titles by the time he became a sometimes player. Agassi has one.
Whatever problems there are with men's tennis, they have nothing to do with Pete Sampras, whose magnificent strokes are all the personality he'll ever need. But if there ever was a player perfectly suited to be to Sampras what McEnroe was to Bjorn Borg, it is this oddball but extremely likable Las Vegan.
Rationalize the Open's appeal any way you like, but it can certainly use Agassi, right through Sunday. There should not be a bigger hurdle for him than yesterday's fifth set.
Chang has been running down Agassi's shots since he was 9 years old and 11-year-old Andre came to play the same 12-and-under tournament in San Diego, lodging at the Chang family home. Running, and tumbling, the way Chang did down in the fourth game of the fifth set, rifling a clean backhand pass down the line to reach break point, a chance to get back on serve.
On the next point, Chang then netted a forehand approach, Agassi came up with his backhand volley, and Chang's last real chance was gone. He wasn't going to beat Agassi as the aggressor. Chang is a born counterpuncher. He is listed at 5 feet 9 inches, 150 pounds, but all I can tell you is that Mary Pierce, who is 5-11, towered over him when they momentarily came together on a practice court yesterday morning.
Chang is an immensely appealing player whose dimensions, unfortunately, do not measure up to his championship heart. It is sheer testament to his determination that he is the world's sixth-ranked player. Persistence and commitment go a long way, as Brad Gilbert should be reminding Agassi, the unseeded, undaunted but eminently unpredictable 20th-ranked player in the world.
