Agassi has no plans to quit - 網球

Sports Columnist

Published July 24, 2005

This will come as a major surprise to many, but Andre Agassi, contrary to a
great deal of speculation, has no plans to retire after the U.S. Open or at
the end of this season.

That doesn't mean it won't happen. At age 35 and with a very serious sciatica
and back problem, Agassi is in a very fluid state right now.

He could decide next week that he's had enough and announce he's finished
with professional tennis, though that's unlikely. He's back on court hitting
this weekend and intends to play next week's event in Los Angeles.

But who can say if or when the back and nerve problems will flare up again?
All we know at this moment is that he says he intends to play at least two
of the U.S. Open Series events, including, of course, the U.S. Open, and he
could be available to play Davis Cup against Belgium in late September.

Suggestions that he has decided to retire after the U.S. Open are incorrect.
That doesn't mean it can't happen, but that's not his plan. His plan is to
keep playing, right into next year.

Wild times at the U.S. Open

There are going to be some unhappy players, both young and older, when the
USTA hands out its eight wild cards for the main draw.

With the dissipation of depth among U.S. men, some well-known American names
might have to qualify. Jan-Michael Gambill and Jeff Morrison could be two of
them.

If the USTA gives them wild cards into the main draw, it's going to be able
to reward only six instead of eight encouraging juniors. And U.S. men's
tennis is at a point where the younger players are commanding more attention
than the older ones.

With only 104 players straight in, based on the rankings of this past week,
at least three veteran Americans (James Blake at No. 107, Morrison at No. 141
and Gambill at No. 150) face the possibility of having to go through
qualifying.

Blake, however, probably will get a direct acceptance because you'd expect
at least three players to be injured badly enough not to play, and that
might include Mardy Fish (No. 68), who quit his match in Indianapolis
Thursday with residual pain from his recent wrist surgery.

One wild card automatically goes to the winner of the U.S. Hardcourts at
Kalamazoo, Mich. Among the younger players, including juniors, who are under
consideration are Donald Young, Tim Neilly (both top 10 ITF juniors), highly
regarded junior Sam Querrey, Todd Widom, Rajeev Ram, K.J. Hippenstiel and
Scoville Jenkins.

Now what happens with Brendan Evans of Key Biscayne, whose ranking is only
432, but who reached the third and final round of U.S. Open qualifying last
year?

There also is Brian Baker, the former Orange Bowl winner who has produced
good results in the Challengers. And Hugo Armando of Miami is having his
best year.

Some of these players are going to have to take wild cards into the
qualifying instead of the main draw.

Gambill and Morrison, in particular, are going to argue that they've given
years of service to U.S. tennis and deserve some main-draw consideration
from their home country's Grand Slam.

The nine Yanks straight into the main draw (ranking in parentheses): Andy
Roddick (4), Agassi (6), Taylor Dent (30), Vince Spadea of Boca Raton (42),
Fish, Kevin Kim (69), Paul Goldstein (78), Justin Gimelstob (97), Robby
Ginepri (98).

Second serves

Fish's retirement at Indianapolis is not really a setback. He said his
doctor advised him the wrist pain was normal discomfort and that he could
be back after a few days rest. He's still on target for the U.S. Open. ...

Steffi Graf was back on court playing World Team Tennis and looking
predictably rusty, popping up a volley late in the match that gave Anna
Kournikova an easy backhand passing shot. ...

Lleyton Hewitt, who won the U.S. Open Series in 2004 by playing Canada,
Cincinnati, Washington and New Haven, has significantly cut back his
schedule. He'll play only Canada and Cincinnati and might take a wild
card into New Haven, which is the week before the U.S. Open. "I've just
got to wait and see how my body feels,'' he said. "Last year gave me a
lot of confidence going to Long Island [the week before the Open] and
being able to play so well in the exact same environment at Flushing
Meadows. But I've got to wait and see. I prefer to be known not as
someone that enters a lot of tournaments and pulls out at the last
minute."

Charles Bricker's tennis column appears Sundays. He can be reached at
[email protected]

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