After losing his first three Grand Slam finals (Roland Garros 1990 and 1991 and US Open 1990), Andre Agassi wrote the first pages of his legend at Wimbledon 1992. Much later, at 36 years old, with eight grand in his pocket and his name among the greatest, The American stepped onto the London grass for the last time. It was 2006. His rival was a young man with long hair named Rafael Nadal.the same one who is now heading down that same path, the difficult decision of knowing when and how to hang up the racket.
At that time, Agassi had already announced that he would retire in 2006. It was his last Wimbledon. He won his first two matches and in the third round awaited him a Nadal who was already on everyone’s lips for his two Roland Garros titles and his challenge to Roger Federer. Agassi, however, thought that on the grass he had a chance against the Spaniard. I was wrong.
“I can tell you this: There’s nothing worse than having a biological clock telling you that you can only play for so long. And then look at the other side of the net and know that you have to play against Rafa. Because the risk increases dramatically,” Agassi recalled this weekend in Las Vegas, his hometown, where he attended the exhibition between Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz.
“Because it was on grass, you might think it was a good thing for me. But it’s just that his physique was too dominant at that time. Rafa was always very polite, but very ungenerous“added the former number one, laughing at how Nadal pushed his rivals to the limit.
Agassi lost that match 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 and 6-4 in two hours and 14 minutes and ended up blowing kisses and signing autographs on a center court given to the American legend. A few days later, Nadal would reach the first of his five Wimbledon finals. He would fall to Federer, but he had already sent a warning to the world: his tennis was not just for clay.
“He deserves the farewell he wants”
Nadal is now in a similar situation to Agassi. Although he has not yet confirmed it 100%, it seems more than likely that 2024 will be his last season on the circuit. After the Las Vegas exhibition, Nadal will reappear on the circuit on Thursday in Indian Wells. It will only be his second tournament in the last 15 months and his future in the short and medium term is an unknown.
“What I can say is that He deserves his own farewell process, he deserves the farewell that he wants and I hope that the body allows him to make that decision. But even if his body does not allow him to say goodbye as he wants, he remains the master of his destiny,” Agassi commented. “He has asked a lot of his body over the years and we all write checks with our bodies that at some point we can’t cash. “Sometimes we are surprised when our body doesn’t listen to us, but he is smart, he is professional and he has experience, so I think he will be able to make the decision he wants.”
And how does Agassi imagine Nadal’s farewell? “For some it is important to say goodbye with a great game, in an incredibly authentic way. When I see Rafa with everything he has done over the years, leaving everything on the court, I think that connection is important for him,” Agassi responded. “Rafa has a clear path to what he wants to do and we must support him“.
Rafael Nadal
Carlos Alcaraz
2024-03-04 05:13:50
#Rafa #courteous #ungenerous #Relief
