2006 WIMBLEDON
3rd Round
RAFAEL NADAL v ANDRE AGASSI
7-6, 6-2, 6-4
Agassi had announced just days earlier that 2006 was going to be his last Wimbledon appearance.
The showdown against Nadal was going to be a difficult test for the 36 year old who had not played much tennis this year prior to this tournament. But the matchup proved to be a good one for the ex-champion to pass the torch to the younger player.
Nadal has taken the tennis world by storm much like the way Agassi did back in the 1980s.
In the match, Agassi was hitting the ball very crisply and was ahead in the tiebreak and looked poised to take the set.
But Nadal roared back to
life and fought back. After losing the set, Agassi seemed to know that he
might not have enough stamina to beat Nadal in a marathon 5 set match.
Nadal served better than ever, hitting 18 aces, and held his serve without much
effort.
Agassi tried to put Nadal on the defensive by hitting hard flat
shots to each corner, but the supreme athleticism of Nadal was able to hit
passing shots while on the dead run.
Agassi was defeated, but he was gracious in defeat and thanked the fans for all
of their support during his 19 years at Wimbledon.
USA ORDERS:
NON-USA ORDERS: $16.00