e’ve now survived one full year of the “AAE” - the After Agassi Era. Yes, it’s now been just over 12 months since tennis’ most charismatic, compelling baseliner turned knowing sage ‘n saint - Mr. Andre Agassi - hung up his Adidas and stashed his Head racket in his Vegas attic.

Certainly, many wondered whether tennis as we knew it would dissolve now that its grand elder of insight, its ambassador of bliss, was just another sunbelt retiree.

But not to worry. Our sport always re-invents itself. Still, in the year that Andre has vanished from the spotlight (while still working on his incredible inner-city academy and a portfolio of high-end projects from swanky furniture collections and sweaty workout salons to luxury getaways from Costa Rica to Idaho) - we’ve realized one thing; Andre’s greatest gift is that he simply made us all feel better. In his later years, he always took us in, insisting he stood on our shoulders, that somehow his triumphs came only because we were his inspiration - not vice-versa.

Knowing Agassi’s popularity, the USTA was eager to orchestrate a high-profile, welcome back salute to the great Las Vegan. But Andre declined. Instead, he partook of a “soft return.” When he came to Ashe Stadium one night to do a stint as a guest commentator, as Federer once again deconstructed Roddick, they flashed his picture on the Diamond Vision screen and the joint just about fell apart in glee.

When the International Tennis Hall of Fame gave Andre the Gene Scott Award for his contributions to the game, a bejeweled crowd of tony tennis supporters showered him with love. Andre returned the favor, saying, “Since I’ve retired, I’ve thought about the many things I love about our sport...Most of all, I love the people it produces who change society.” He then spoke of the caring icons of a wonderful sport: Arthur Ashe, “who at the peak of apartheid went down to South Africa to tear down a wall of racism”; Billie Jean King, “who’s a hero to all of us”; and journalist Gene Scott, “a great writer and honest broker who was our sport’s moral compass.”

We caught up with the eight-time Slam champ and chatted with him just outside the Ashe Stadium locker room. He was bright and engaged, and we were again reminded that if there were a championship in all of sports in the imaginary category of “joie de vivre/twinkle in your eye,” Andre would win, hands down.

INSIDE TENNIS: So Andre, what’s it like to return to Ashe Stadium?

ANDRE AGASSI: Ahhh, the electricity here, this is the greatest environment in the world. I couldn’t think of any place I could ever miss more.

IT: So what’s it like to be a TV commentator?

AA: It’s fun to spend time with Ted [Robinson] and John [McEnroe], say hello and pay my respects. There are so many memories here. I had a chance to talk about the game, which I always enjoy doing.

IT: What about your retirement, what’s the best part?

AA: Living without the dramas.

IT: So Andre, tell me, just what is the genius of Federer?

AA: The guy has so much he can fall back on. When you’re that good, with his ball striking, his ability to hit the ball in front of him and hit the ball behind him, it has so many dimensions to it. It’s not just up and down, it’s forward and back. His movement. The guy brings so much. You just marvel at it. You get the feeling when you’re looking at him that you’re just watching history.

IT: He weathers his storms incredibly?

AA: I haven’t seen a storm that he hasn’t been able to figure out.

IT: And if there were one thing in American tennis you could change.

AA: The inner city. Get rackets in the hands of great athletes. They’re eager, hungry and know what it means to have the opportunity. You’ll see amazing things if you give people a chance.

IT: What’s the most surprising thing about being retired?

AA: That in one short year it could feel like yesterday and a lifetime ago.

IT: Thanks guy, we’ll see you down the road.

No kidding. Like millions of others, we were stunned by Agassi’s debut performance as a guest commentator on the USA Network. Columnist Joe Posnanski called Agassi’s cameo during the Fed-Roddick quarterfinal, “Great. Thoughtful. Fascinating. Incisive. For two-plus hours, I sat mesmerized in a recliner and listened to Agassi talk about tennis and sports.”

Throughout, Andre offered candor and humor. When discussing night tennis, he confided, “There’s nothing I liked more than playing in havoc.”

When McEnore spoke of Ken Rosewall, “who in his entire career never came over on his backhand,” Agassi countered, “I married someone like that.” That would be Steffi (oh-what-a-great-slice-backhand) Graf. When Hawk-Eye showed that a linesman was in error, Andre coined a new concept as he reasoned, “It’s nice to know it’s an objective mistake.”

Agassi then spilled the beans on one of the greatest insider tale we’ve ever heard. “Speaking about little ticks that give away serves,” he began, innocently enough, “I always felt Boris [Becker] had one of those that helped me...that gave away his tendencies. He had this habit, when he would go into his rocking motion, he would toss the ball and his tongue would either stay in the center of his lips if he was serving up the middle of the deuce court, or he would actually slide it to the side of his mouth if he was serving wide.”

“You’ve got to be making this up,” responded a stunned McEnroe.

“You can’t make that up,” Andre replied. “Get the tape. [And the USA Network promptly did so.] Boris would go into press conferences after our matches and say, ‘It’s like this guy reads my mind.’ There was a time when he stopped doing it and a panic set in me...It makes all the difference in the world if you can pick up one or two things. I actually shared that with Boris one night out at Oktoberfest. He said he’d sleep a lot easier knowing that now.”

Andre than went on to stress the importance of “understanding your opponent’s game. How can my strengths match up with their weaknesses? How can I get them to play uncomfortable shots they don’t want to play?...There’re a lot of ways to win. You can do it by stepping up or you can do it by bringing someone’s game down.”

Andre also brought us up to speed on where he was at these days. “Life on my terms is good,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to be down there right now being put to the test. I still enjoy the training. Everything I used to enjoy I still do. [But] I don’t have to do the other things I struggled with.”

Then the man who may be the most perceptive observer of all the ex-players around (and also has quite a user-friendly voice) unintentionally began to dominate the broadcast booth as he offered one revealing insight after another.

ON RODDICK

• “It seems like Andy’s biggest crime is coming along during Roger’s time.”

• “It’s amazing how few double faults Andy has...[but] when he gets behind in the point, he’ll just get further and further back. That’s kept him from accomplishing more.”

• “The problem is when you get around a weakness by avoiding it, it actually ends up making you more nervous when you have to deal with it. The best thing Andy can do to improve that backhand is to just keep going after it.”

• “Speed is the most underrated skill in tennis. If I could have Roddick’s serve or Blake’s speed, I’d be hard pressed [to decide].”

ON FEDERER AND SAMPRAS

• “Part of Pete’s experience was that ability to bring a player’s game down. He had a way of lulling you into this belief that this match was going to continue on these terms. The next thing you knew, after playing an average set, he would play great for 30 seconds and the set was over. Fed approaches it differently. He squeezes you at any part of a match. You’d play a great match against Pete and he’d beat you 5 and 6. You’d play a bad match against Pete and he’d still beat you 5 and 6. Fed, you play a good match, he beats you 5 and 6. You play a bad match, he’s going to drop a 1 and 1 on you. Every part of Fed’s game is something you’ve got to deal with: his speed, shot-making ability, forehand, return, sense of the court and his ability to raise his game. He’s a lot to deal with.”

ON FEDERER

• “When a champion has two things they can count on out there as the best in the world, they’re a dominant champion. Roger has closer to five. His return is one of them. It’s very underrated.”

• “I never played anybody [else] where at 40-15 I just wanted the game over with. Roger can make you feel that. If you make one mistake, he can turn that into a four-point streak.” [NOTE: Novak Djokovic, are you listening?]

• “It’s amazing to be able to think that love-15 is an opportunity. That’s the way it feels because of the way Roger has been taking care of business.”

• “Being down two sets to him is like a death sentence.”

• “He’s one of the best movers we’ve ever seen - his ability to cover the court, to understand the court, his movement at the net, the way he can transition from defense to offense.”

• “It’s like a golfer who’s putting well. The green gets bigger, the fairways get bigger. All of a sudden, you’re standing on the tee and you feel pretty relaxed...It comes easy.”

• “Roger has a phenomenal hold game. The way he sets up the first shot of a rally. Roger’s second serve could get so much better if he wanted to. The problem is, he can rely on so much there’s no reason to take the risk on the second serve.”

• “The score never influences Fed’s swing. He always keeps it fluid, always keeps that racket head moving, always keeps the head down. It looks like he’s never going to miss it...I haven’t even seen Fed make an adjustment when it comes to addressing somebody’s game...It has to do with how efficiently he plays. He’s not as hard on his body as most. I would love to know his training routine, what gets him this sharp.”

• “It’s crazy to say these days, but he ain’t thinking about the [$2.4 million] cash. He’s about to do something remarkable here.”

 

 

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