LAST SHOT AT GREATNESS?

The clock ticks on Andre

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Susan Mullane Camerawork USA, Inc.

The moment Andre Agassi fired a ball at a lineswoman after his wrenching five
set loss to Patrick Rafter in the Wimbledon semifinals, it became blatantly obvious that the American realized that what appeared to be turning into a magical year six weeks ago is now just another season on the brink.

Although he never blatantly admitted it, the 31-year-old Agassi was hoping to make 2001 the year when he went around the block twice at the two majors he was only a one-timer at -- Roland Garros and Wimbledon. If he would have managed the feat, he not only would have been within striking distance of a calendar year Grand Slam, but he would have already totaled nine majors in all, surpassing his least favorite American, Jimmy Connors, and getting within a sniff of the legendary Bjorn Borg's tail. With two titles on every surface, the Las Vegan would automactically be named as one of the top five players of
all time.

After his disastrous loss to Sebastien Grosjean in Paris, it was certainly debatable whether Andre could pick himself off the mat and seriously compete at Wimbledon. But he's smart enough to know that even if he was depressed by his lost Parisian opportunity, that if he he didn't pull out all stops at the All England Club, he would be risking possibly his last chance to seriously compete for the title here. For even though Andre is arguably the best return of server of all time and has some of the quickest hands in the business, it
is nearly impossible for an aggressive baseliner to win the Wimby title. Only
two back court boys have done it over the last 19 years -- Agassi and
Connors -- and they both did it under extreme duress. In '82, Connors barely
edged Johnny Mac in a spectacular five-setter and in '92, Agassi needed five
lenghty sets to repeal Goran Ivanisevic. Given that their weaponry is limited
on grass, the odds of both Connors and Agassi winning the title again were
lengthy.

CAN'T CLOSE IT OUT
Andre appeared to be extremely close to beating Rafter on Friday, but one
never got the sense that he could close the match out. Agassi's serve
worsened as the match went on and toward the end of the fifth, Rafter was
having few problems chipping it deep and attacking. Andre returned extremely
well himself, but was constantly under pressure from the ever-charging Rafter
and didn't look at all comfortable attempting to serve the match out. Because
of the immense pressure that Pat was bringing, Andre didn't think clearly in
either the 10th game when he was broken while serving for the match, or the
14th game in which he was broken to lose the match.

Even though he a somewhat negligable volleyer, Agassi should have charged the
net more in order to cut off Rafter's floating service returns. That was the
aggressive play he needed, not wishing that Rafter's approach shots would be
short enough so he could rip passing shot winners. He needed to change
tactics to seize the day and he didn't, which is why for the second straight
year he is going home without a date in the final. Andre may be a great X's
and O's guy most of the time, but against Pat, he put his blinders on and
coached himself into defeat by failing to be more innovative.

With that said, Agassi is still the year's best overall performer. He has
one Slam title (the Aussie Open), two Masters Series crowns, a quarterfinal
appearance in Paris and a semifinal at Wimbledon. No one left at Wimbledon
nor Guga comes close to this mark. But Agassi is now in the same spot he was
last year, vying with two other Slam winners for the U.S. Open crown and for
the unofficial title of "Player of the Year."

THE U.S. OPEN LOOMS
Agassi has a terrific shot in New York, given that quick hard courts are his
best surface. The question is, how motivated will Andre be to attempt to win
his third U.S. Open crown. I would think that he will super-motivated, given
that next year will likely be his last year on tour so he's likely looking
at five more majors in which to grab a title and tie Jimbo.

By the way, the 2001 U.S. Open is the 10th anniversary of Connors unbelievable geriatric run to the semis at age 39. Agassi isn't quite ready to join the Gray Panthers yet, but you can bet that with the amount of attention that television will devote to reliving the Connors story that Andre will be plenty juiced up to grab some headlines of his own. The question is, will he think clearly at crunch time, or grow frustrated like he did in Paris and London and let go of another golden opportunity?