Sports
Agassi loses, final farewell to Wimbledon
By Associated Press
Jul 1, 2006, 11:49

WIMBLEDON, England - Andre Agassi bowed out of Wimbledon for the final time Saturday, beaten in straight sets by Rafael Nadal.

Andre Agassi blows a kiss to spectators, after defeating Andreas Seppi of Italy, during their Men's Singles, second round, match on the Number One Court at Wimbledon, Thursday June 29, 2006.(AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

Playing in his 14th Wimbledon before retirement later this year, the 36-year-old American couldn't keep up with the relentless power hitting of the 20-year-old Spaniard and fell 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-4.

For one last time, Agassi stood in the middle of the court after the match and blew kisses and bowed to all corners of the arena. Then, in a break with Wimbledon tradition, he addressed the crowd by microphone to say goodbye.

"It's been a lot of incredible years here," Agassi said, wiping away tears. "I'll never be able to repay you for how you've embraced me over the years and I thank you for that. ... You guys are awesome tennis fans, you have shown me so much love."

Then Agassi took his bag, stopped to sign a few autographs and gave a final wave as he walked off the most famous court in tennis.

Nadal, the two-time French Open champion, transferred his clay-court baseline game to the grass of Centre Court to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon for the first time.

It marked the changing of the guard, with the popular American leaving the All England Club stage for good and Nadal making his breakthrough on the fast surface. Nadal had just turned 6 when Agassi won the first of his eight Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon in 1992.

Agassi wasn't just beaten by Nadal, he was dominated. Nadal had 44 winners and only 10 unforced errors, while Agassi had 23 winners and 18 errors.

The Spaniard isn't renowned for his serve, and Agassi is considered one of the best returners in the history of the game. Yet, Nadal had 18 aces and won 64 of 79 points on serve. Not only did he never face a break point — Agassi never even got to deuce on Nadal's serve.

Fittingly, Nadal finished the match with an ace — a wide-swinging serve that gave Agassi no chance. Nadal leaped in the air and held up his arms, but celebrated in a relatively muted fashion. The two embraced at the net, and Nadal gave Agassi a pat on the back as they headed to their chairs.

"He is one of the best players," Nadal said in remarks to the crowd. "I want to congratulate Andre. He is unbelievable. Today I played for sure my best match on grass."