Agassi withdraws from Wimbledon - 網球

Agassi withdraws from Wimbledon

By CHRIS LEHOURITES, AP Sports Writer
June 14, 2005

AP - Jun 14, 2:06 pm EDT

LONDON (AP) -- Former Wimbledon champion Andre Agassi withdrew from
Wimbledon on Tuesday because of an unspecified injury.

The 1992 singles champion said in a fax that he would not play in
this year's tournament at the All England Club, organizers said.

Although Agassi didn't say why he was pulling out of Wimbledon, it
was an inflamed sciatic nerve that rendered him helpless in the
middle of his 7-5, 4-6, 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-0 first-round loss to
qualifier Jarkko Nieminen at the French Open last month.

``It was getting worse by the minute,'' said the sixth-seeded
Agassi after the match. ``I knew it wasn't going to be pretty
after that. But I didn't want to walk off. I just didn't want
to do it. And there's nothing the trainer could do.

Agassi has been enduring discomfort for months and said he
considered quitting against Nieminen even when he led two
sets to one, but instead played through the pain.

He left Roland Garros hopeful about Wimbledon, believing a cortisone
injection would make the pain go away, but he also admitted he may be
close to retiring.


The sixth-ranked American pulled out of last year's Wimbledon because
of an ailing hip. Agassi has won eight Grand Slam titles, including
one of each of the four majors. His last Grand Slam title came at
the Australian Open in 2003.

Wimbledon is set to release its seedings for the 2005 tournament on
Wednesday, and the draw is Thursday.

Agassi is married to Steffi Graf, who celebrated her 36th birthday
Tuesday.

Also, Elena Bovina of Russia withdrew with a shoulder injury.

Updated on Tuesday, Jun 14, 2005 2:17 pm EDT


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