The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Andre Agassi's advice to youngsters

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Wednesday, Aug 02, 2006

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Sport - Tennis

Andre Agassi's advice to youngsters

WASHINGTON : Once a young and flashy teenager who eventually became the face of American tennis and one of the greatest champions of his era, Andre Agassi now finds himself playing the role of mentor.

Agassi, making his 17th appearance in the Legg Mason Classic at the William H.G. Fitzgerald Tennis Center this week, plans to end his 20-year career after the U.S. Open, which begins on August 28. Before he retires, the 36-year-old Agassi had some advice for younger players such as Andy Roddick and James Blake.

``Find a way to get more out of yourself, find a way to improve,'' Agassi said. ``And keep pushing your standard and hope that separates you from the rest.''

Agassi believes it is becoming more difficult to remain at the top of the sport as it grows internationally. He said that only adds to the pressure faced by Roddick, who will turn 24 during the U.S. Open, and the 26-year-old Blake.

``It's a competitive environment out there,'' Agassi said. ``It's an international sport with a lot of great players who pour a lot of themselves into what they do, and my advice to each of them always has pretty much been to just to keep your head down and only think about getting better regardless of where you're ranked, regardless of what you're going through.''

The eight-time Grand Slam champion spoke of the unrelenting dedication it takes to stay at the top of the sport and how the next generation of American players might be able to continue the success of the previous two.

``I think that first of all, we're coming off a pretty special group of players over the last two generations of American tennis between (Jimmy) Connors and (John) McEnroe, then to Pete (Sampras), Michael (Chang), Jim (Courier) and myself,'' Agassi said. ``If you look at the Grand Slam titles that they've got, it's a big standard to live up to. It's a unique group of guys that have accomplished that sort of level.

``But when you look at James and Andy, you certainly believe that they have the skills and athleticism to do it as well. Andy's been to the top. He's won a Grand Slam. He's experienced what it takes, and he's committed to achieving that. And I think that we still haven't seen the best of James yet as well.''

Agassi, a five-time winner here, will open with a second-round match on Wednesday against Italian qualifier Andrea Stoppini. — AP

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