Agassi Plans Delray Beach Return, Possible Davis Cup Com - 網球

By Tennis Week
01/13/2006

Andre Agassi burst out of the Bollettieri Academy in Bradenton, Fla., as a
kid oozing so much colorful charisma on court when he painted the lines with
bold baseline strokes you almost expected them to turn into the cool colors
of art deco South Beach structures.

Completing his recovery from the grade three ankle sprain that knocked him
out of the Australin Open, the 35-year-old Agassi will commence his 2006
campaign in Delray Beach this month, then quite possibly clothe himself in
another familiar color scheme: the red, white and blue U.S. Davis Cup uniform.

Agassi will headline the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships
field that includes fellow Americans James Blake and Robby Ginepri ?the
players Agassi defeated in five-set succession in the 2005 U.S. Open
quarterfinals and semifinals ?starting on Jan. 30 at the Delray Beach Tennis
Center.

Agassi is earning a reported six-figure appearance fee to play Delray Beach
and tournament ticket sales spiked as tickets for Monday, Tuesday and the
Saturday semifinals are 70 percent sold and Sunday's finals are nearing a
sellout at the 6,000-seat Delray Beach Tennis Center and Stadium, according
to the tournament ticket office. For ticket information, please call (561)
330-6000 or visit the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships web
site.

Setting his schedule after Delray Beach, the eight-time Grand Slam tournament
champion said today he hopes to play for the U.S. Davis Cup team at some
point this season ?perhaps as soon as February's first round.

"(I観 playing) San Jose and Dubai and Palm Springs (after Delray Beach),"
Agassi said in an interview to promote his appearance in Delray Beach. "And
hopefully Davis Cup ?if I can earn my place there."

Agassi made his Davis Cup comeback in the United States?opening-round loss to
eventual-champion Croatia last March at the Home Depot Center in Carson,
Calif. He ruled out a return to Davis Cup in September旧 World Group
qualifying tie against host Belgium because it came just weeks after his
inspired run to the U.S. Open final and because the tie was staged on red
clay ?the surface least conducive to Agassi旧 game at this point in his
career.

American Davis Cup players Andy Roddick, the Bryan brothers, James Blake and
Robby Ginepri grew up looking up to Agassi. U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick
McEnroe and Roddick, who played a Richmond, Va., exhibition match with Agassi
last month, are Agassi's friends and have actively campaigned for his return
to Davis Cup. Now, it appears, Agassi is seriously considering playing. His
comments came hours after McEnroe hinted at an Agassi Davis Cup comeback
during an interview with Tennis Week on Thursday afternoon.

"You never know; we may even see Andre Agassi out there," McEnroe told Tennis
Week when asked about a his potential lineup for the United States?Feb. 10-12
first-round Davis Cup tie against Romania at the LaJolla Beach & Tennis Club.

The biggest obstacles to an Agassi appearance in Davis Cup are his health
?though Agassi reports he is "100 percent healthy now," he has taken periodic
cortisone injections to treat his painful sciatic nerve condition over the
past year ?and an ambitious schedule. Agassi, who celebrates his 36th
birthday on April 29, is aiming to play five tournaments, including two
Masters Series events, and possibly the first-round Davis Cup tie, in a
three-month span.

It is a potentially punishing demand on a body that has endured 1,126 matches
as he enters his 21st season of professional tennis, but Agassi has already
announced he probably won急 play Roland Garros and it旧 conceivable he could
opt to skip much or all of the clay-court season.

Agassi spoke like a man who has spent some of his time off from tennis
questioning his place in the sport before arriving at the self-affirming
conclusion that he still has quality tennis left within and is excited at the
prospect of continuing to challenge himself against the game旧 best.

"I guess the biggest question I have to answer at this stage of my career is
do I still believe I have the game that can compete with the best in the
world on a consistent basis?" Agassi said. "And I feel I can still answer
that 谫es.?I観 more excited now than I挙e ever been for all the things that I
enjoy about tennis ?traveling the world and competing ?and I have a support
system in place that allows me the opportunity to push myself in that arena
still. And so I find myself getting to enjoy the icing on the cake quite
often now. And I観 at an age where I can really appreciate what these
opportunities mean and what I can do and how many people beneft as a result
of it through my foundation. There旧 a lot of wins out there for me
personally, regardless of the scores."

The four-time Australian Open champion said missing the Melbourne major where
he has enjoyed his greatest Grand Slam success was a difficult decision, but
his ankle sprain left him little choice but to withdraw.

"I will be able to watch it, (but) it旧 very difficult," Agassi said. "I didn
急 play Australia for the first nine years of my career; so it's very
disappointing cause when I did start to play it, I sort of quickly came to
enjoy it so much because of the sports fans there and the success that it
gave me. It's an arena I certainly performed my best in and to lose that
opportunity certainly takes a big part of the year from me. My satisfaction
comes from pushing myself and if I feel limited in that regard it takes away
a lot of enjoyment for me. My alternative was to go (to Australia) less than
100 percent and less than ready. So as difficult as (withdrawing) is, it does
beat the alternative."

Agassi spent his teenage years training at the Bollettieri Academy in
Bradenton and views his trip to Delray Beach as a homecoming of sorts as
wife, Steffi Graf, lived in nearby Boca Raton for years and her brother and
his family still spend time in south Florida.

"I'm coming in there looking to be at my best, but very realistic that I haven
急 played competitive matches in a number of months," Agassi said. "When I
missed Wimbledon and the first round of the French, I took time off to make
good decisions and prepare and I came into the summer playing three finals in
a row with L.A. and Montreal and the U.S. Open. So I know things can fall
(into place) for me quickly, but I also anticiptate it being hard work and me
having to dig deep and find my best tennis and I hope it happens inside of
that (Delray Beach) tournament. I always enjoyed that challenge (of playing
in Florida), the breeze that旧 very well known to the locals; I enjoy the
surface that gives me my best look at being my best and I think I can go into
the tournament and surprise myself and others. Certainly, it's a perfect way
for me to start the year."

Agassi's former Davis Cup teammate and captain ?Hall of Famer John McEnroe
?will restart his doubles career when he partners Grand Slam doubles champion
Jonas Bjorkman in San Jose next month and Agassi may be an interested
spectator at that match.

"Oh my goodness," an audibly surprised Agassi replied when informed of
McEnroe's much-anticipated San Jose return. "How come he didn't choose me?
Wow, I mean listen, this guy can play the game in a way others haven't
duplicated. As you get older, movement is an issue, but when you talk about
doubles he can cover the court probably still better than anybody. I
certainly wish him well and I look forward to watching that."


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