During the summer of 1992 I learned how to play tennis. I first learned the rules of the game and how to score by watching the French Open and Wimbledon on TV. Then I took lessons from the parks and recreations. As you may or may not know, the summer of 1992 was the year Andre Agassi won Wimbledon. And my love began.
In high school I would say I was a fan of Agassi. I had posters on my wall with him and his long hair and cut off shorts. And I loved watching him on TV with his wild antics. When Agassi fell in the rankings and played the challenger tournaments and came back as a whole different player, that's when I went from fan to admirer. It's almost deeper than admiration...I would have to say I have a deep respect and love for Andre Agassi. I love watching him play. He's a textbook player. He's classy on and off the court. He's respectful and has gained the respect of players and fans around teh world. Andre Agassi is tennis personified.
Last Saturday Andre Agassi announced he was retiring from tennis at the end of this summer, with the US Open being his last tournament. My heart sank. I knew the end was inevitable and I knew it was coming soon, but I guess I wasn't prepared enough. Last year I traveled to New York to witness the US Open firsthand. I absolutely LOVED being at the US Open, but unfortuantely, I wasn't lucky enough to get to witness Agassi play in person. And now the end is near and I probably won't get to see him play in person.Today I spent the day watching Wimbledon and I watched Agassi play his last match at Centre Court against Rafael Nadal. The match was pretty lopsided and not great to watch as an Agassi fan. At the end he blew kisses to the crowd one last time and I cried. My heart has been broken. I feel like I've lost a close friend.
On behalf of the many fans and admirers out there, thank you Andre.
2 comments:
Sadness. I'm sorry someone you admire so much won't be doing what you both love where you can see him doing it. Did that make any sense? Heh. *HUGS*
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