Agassi rages on despite his age

At the grand old age of 33, Andre Agassi is running out of hills to climb.

And no, we’re not talking about the glute-searing sand dunes he likes to train on in the desert outside Las Vegas.

During his 14 years on the ATP Tour, Agassi has been a LeBron-like prodigy and a Jordan-esque superstar, authoring a Swayze-style skid and a Travolta-topping comeback.

Along the way, the No.1 seed in this week’s Legg Mason Tennis Classic has grown up. Gone bald. Gotten married (twice). Fathered a son. Captured eight major titles. Won millions in prize money. And cemented his place in tennis history with a career Grand Slam.

A little less than two weeks ago, Agassi even introduced his own fragrance line, perhaps the best — and certainly the best-smelling — indication of just how much he’s accomplished. (Hey, it worked for MJ).

Yet to hear Agassi tell it, he isn’t quite ready to skip the slopes for the ski lift. Not when there are plenty of personal peaks left to scale, starting with a potential sixth Legg Mason title.

“I have something to prove every day,” he said during a news conference yesterday at William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center. “I’ll keep doing that until I decide not to anymore.

“I don’t have to prove it for the sake of how I look back on my career. But I have to prove it for the sake of getting better and proving to myself that I can do it, proving to my opponent that I can do it. The second you stop proving it, that’s it.”

So far this season, Agassi has proved plenty. Following a disheartening loss to longtime rival Pete Sampras in last fall’s U.S. Open final, Agassi opened the year by winning his fourth Australian Open title.

Since then, he’s triumphed at three other tournaments, notching a milestone victory at the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships in Houston, an event Agassi last won in 1988 at the age of 18.

With his victory in Houston, Agassi became the oldest man ever to hold the No.1 ranking, ending Lleyton Hewitt’s 75-week run as the world’s top player.

Besides Agassi, only Jimmy Connors, John Newcombe and Ivan Lendl have reached the ranking summit after turning 30.

While Agassi’s Greatest Generation contemporaries — Sampras, Jim Courier, Michael Chang — fade quietly into the good night of exhibition matches and celebrity golf, the one-time shaggy-haired Rock ‘n’ Roll tennis icon continues to rage. Albeit sans the denim cutoffs and neon-pink bike shorts that were once his signature.

“[Retirement] happens for all of us,” said Agassi, who enters the Legg Mason with a 33-5 singles record this season. “You never know when it’s your last. That’s the bottom line. So you might as well make the most of it. It’s a great feeling to feel that way so often.”

Story Continues →