Andre Agassi to Say Goodbye [J. Mark English]

Christopher Clarey, New York Times -

With his voice calm and his eyes occasionally welling with tears, Andre Agassi announced Saturday that the end of his tennis career is near.

This Wimbledon, which begins Monday, will be his last, and he then plans to retire after the United States Open later this summer.

"I think there's a lot of factors," Agassi said of his decision.

"It's starting with my family, starting with what it takes to be out here and compete on this level. I have to make sure I approach this through the sense of what's best for who I care about the most and what is best for me.

"There's been a lot of challenges, but it's been 20, 21 years of incredible, incredible memories."

Agassi said he made the decision to retire a few months ago.

"We sort of waited until now to say something," he said. "Because it's only right that I say it in the place that it all started."

Agassi surprised nearly everyone, including himself, when he won the first of his eight Grand Slam singles titles here in 1992. At that stage, he was still considered a player with great potential and questionable grit, but with his long hair flowing out of the back of his cap, he beat Boris Becker, John McEnroe and ultimately Goran Ivanisevic in five sets in the final, dropping to his knees with wide-eyed delight.