If the U.S. Open quarterfinal tennis match last night had been a fictionalized account in a movie or a book, the writer would have insisted that one of the characters didn't belong on the court because Andre Agassi and James Blake are both "good guys." They are respectful of opponents and fans. And they are respectful of the game that they love to play.
James Blake probably shouldn't have been there. In 2004, he broke his neck while playing tennis, his father died, and for a while James was temporarily paralyzed in his face. His ranking plummeted and playing a night match on the world's biggest tennis stage probably seemed as unlikely as returning to a "normal" life. But he did. Both. He received a wildcard to enter the U.S. Open and made it all the way to the quarterfinals against Agassi.
Andre Agassi probably shouldn't have been there either. He's 35, ranked 7th in the world, and has been battling a back problem for quite some time. His legs are tired. And his ability to jump on opponents early in matches isn't quite so fast any more. But none of those things factor in Agassi's love for the game and more impressively, his understanding that performing at a high level for fans who are spending time and money to watch him play a game is more important than all of the things that are not in his favor.
The stage was set. Two "good guy" Americans. Two Cinderella stories. But only one guy could win in the quarterfinals and advance. I couldn't figure out who to root for, so I just watched and marveled at two great athletes. Blake was red hot to start the match and an hour into the match he was up two sets to none. Agassi looked spent. He wasn't moving well. He was frustrated with his body. And I'm guessing that he was frustrated that he wasn't putting up a better fight for the fans.
Then something happened. Agassi found a way to win the third set and everybody was stunned—not that Agassi kept fighting, but that he had anything left in his tank to actually win the set. The crowd started to get behind Agassi thinking that they'd love to see a come from behind victory from the two-time aging champion that inspires people to reach beyond themselves.
Agassi won the fourth set and unbelievably, they were tied at two sets apiece. And on a Wednesday night in New York, 20,000 people went crazy as Wednesday night became Thursday morning. The fifth set started around midnight and seemed destined for a tie-breaker. Indeed that's what happened. And of course, the tie-breaker was a battle too. Blake had the first match point at 6-5, but Agassi rallied and won the tie-breaker 8-6.
The two players embraced at the net and the crowd applauded in appreciation for two athletes who gave it everything they had. James Blake said these words to Agassi at the net: "It couldn't have been more fun to lose."
Here's what Agassi said after the match: "I don't know if I can put in context how this compares with some of my greatest experience on the tennis court, but I know it's right up there because this is what you work so hard for, you know. To be honest, with the way a mentality like mine sort of works, is this means as much to me as doing it in the finals. This is what it's about. It's about just authentic competition, just getting out there and having respect for each other's game and respect for each other's person and letting it fly and letting it be just about tennis."
He went on to say this: "At 1:15 in the morning for 20,000 people to still be here, I wasn't the winner, tennis was. I don't know if I've ever felt this good here before."
As tennis fans, we don't know if we have either Andre.
