Agassi playing doubles?!

[FulhamFan]

Agassi is playing doubles at queen's with roddick. When was the last time he played doubles?

[R. Jayakrishnan]

October 2001, with Hrbaty, at the Stuttgart indoors.

Jay

[dryeagle]

thats all he has left now is doubles. the loser couldn't even beat Andreev.

[FulhamFan]

I noticed that agassi is playing with roddick and grosjean is playing with gasquet. Man I would give anything to see the agassi/roddick vs grosjean/gasquet semifinal.

[CrazyDiamond]

October 2001, with Hrbaty, at the Stuttgart indoors.

Jay

You're correct........they beat Tommy Haas and my nephew Glenn Weiner in that Tourney.

[CrazyDiamond]

thats all he has left now is doubles. the loser couldn't even beat Andreev.

Have some respect dryeagle.........you're talking about arguably the greatest player of all time,the only player to ever hold all 4 Slams.

And dont tell me how Laver or whoever did it a thousand years ago because that does'nt count for nothing...Agassi is the only one.

So if we aggree that Sampras is the greatest ever,then Agassi and Borg must be second......and you call that a loser.

And you're an American. ...even more puzzling.

[dryeagle]

I know I'm an American, but I'm not really a big Agassi fan, nor Sampras, Chang or Courier. The only one I follow today is Roddick. Believe me I'm a true American, I just don't like some of the individual players. Andre got way to much publicity early in his career when he never won anything, Chang's career was very much overrated, and Sampras and Courier were pretty boring. And with the exception of Courier, none of these guys wanted to fulfill their Davis Cup commitments because it cut into lining their own pockets with cash.

I was first interested in tennis when Boris Becker won Wimbledon in 85, then I became a fan of his. Growing up, most of the guys I played tennis with were Agassi fans. Since there were many big Becker-Agassi matches in the late 80's and early 90's, it was nice to follow that rivalry, even though Becker lost most of those matches.

Andre's career is pretty much finished and it looks really bad. That French Open loss was ugly. Thankfully, he will probably be done after the US Open.

[CrazyDiamond]

I just watched my nephew Glenn Weiner win his final round Singles Qualifying ....he won and Im celebrating big time.

I still believe that Sampras and Agassi are legends,and deserve our respect forever.

Boris and Glenn lived at Bolleteri together
for about two years........they were practise partners.....Boris is a great guy for sure,helped Glenn big time....so Im a big Boris fan.

[skipper]

glenn is a great guy! congrats to you & him on making it into the main draw! enjoy the moments!

[Karex]

Best of luck in with him in the maindraw.

[dryeagle]

Crazy Diamond, congrats on your cousin qualifying. I really don't know much about Glen, but it looks like he has a decent draw. He could take out Verdasco and meet up with Ginepri in Round 2. How does he compare to Ginepri, can he take him?

[CrazyDiamond]

Thanks guys.

dryeagle......you ask can he take Ginepri.....tough question.
They played twice in 2002.
Glenn won in KNOXVILLE 7/5 6/7 6/3
Ginepri won in Illinois 7/6 6/4
I guess it would be a good matchup.

Problem is Fernando Verdasco is a great player.
Ranked 41,a left hander,.....tough guy to beat.

One thing I've learnt from watching the Pro's over the years is that they're all tough.....they're all Champions,they all have heart.

Who knows when a player is going to have his "lucky week".......that week of Tennis when you're in a zone and you believe you can beat anyone.

So obviously I'd love Glenn to do some damage at Wimbledon and win some matches against higher ranked players,but to be honest Im proud that he made the Main Draw,and anything more than this would be a bonus........however Glenn is not there to make up the numbers Im sure he has no intention of losing to Verdasco.

Skipper.......do you know Glenn.?

[skipper]

met glenn couple of times at matches, don't know him well, but he was a real decent guy anytime i had interactions with him. can't say that about many of the various personalities on tour. its just great to see a good guy do well!

[BoughtMyPoints]

Thanks guys.

One thing I've learnt from watching the Pro's over the years is that they're all tough.....they're all Champions,they all have heart.

Who knows when a player is going to have his "lucky week".......that week of Tennis when you're in a zone and you believe you can beat anyone.

I had the pleasure of meeting Glenn at the Waikoloa Challenger in 2002.

I had not heard of him which puzzled me as he already 25 years old at that time. He cames across as a nice guy. Is there some explanation for his being such a late comer? He's on course to crack the top 100, and if he does he'll be one of the oldest to have achieved that for the first time.

And he's got the credentials now : one of his best recent results was beating Janko Tipsarevic. I'll be rooting for him over the internet!

Missed Roehampton this year but will be at the U S Open qualies.

[CrazyDiamond]

It's really nice to speak to guys who have met Glenn.

BoughtmyPoints...what a cool name .how much did you pay for the points.

You're correct,Glenn is a definate late bloomer.
His biggest setback was the shoulder surgery he had a couple of years ago,,,,,,he was ranked 175 at the time.
He basically could'nt play for two years,his ranking went to 1011 and he had to fight his way back.

You're correct again when you say that it's extremely rare for a player over 25 years old to break into the Top 100.
I think Spadea is one of the only one's to do it,but he did it for the second time....he was previously ranked in the Top 100 before he had that disastrous run of bad form.

I always believed he could do it,I remember the hundreds of hours I spent practising with him when he was 10 years old,before his family left SAfrica and went to live in the States.

At 14 he got the Scholarship to Bolleterri,and at 18 he was Ranked No 1 in the States.
He turned Pro and did okay,but then the shoulder problem started.....he waited about a year before having the surgery.
So basically three years were wasted,so I consider him a 25 yearold,even though he's 28.

Everyone who's met him say's he's a great guy,I could'nt agree more.......not because he's my nephew,but because he's one of the most well mannered respectfull guys I've ever met.
Whatever good things happen to him in the next couple of months he deserves.

Thanks for rooting for him,I'll also be rooting for him big time over the internet....hopefully we'll catch a glimpse of him on the TV as well.

Good luck at the USOpen Qualies,If I knew your name I'd root for you.

[BoughtMyPoints]

Good luck at the USOpen Qualies,If I knew your name I'd root for you.

I could sign in as an alternate but I doubt if they will allow me close to the sign in sheet. I am going as a fan with my 2 children. I am sure one or 2 players will ask me if I am in the draw (just to playfully tease me). I retired from "signing in" at the Graz Challenger in August 2002.

[CrazyDiamond]

Good luck at the USOpen Qualies,If I knew your name I'd root for you.

I could sign in as an alternate but I doubt if they will allow me close to the sign in sheet. I am going as a fan with my 2 children. I am sure one or 2 players will ask me if I am in the draw (just to playfully tease me). I retired from "signing in" at the Graz Challenger in August 2002.

So you've been there and done that,you know what it's all about.

What exactky happens to a Pro when breaks into the Top 100.?
I know it's basically the most important mission that a player has,but are the benefits finacially that big.?

He looks on course,but I dont take anything for granted nowadays,especially when the ATP is involved.

[BoughtMyPoints]

All I ever accomplished was making it to the buffet table.

Obviously the money increases exponentially the higher up the tennis rankings unlike golf which sees a greater sharing of the spoils. Being able to play main draws of even minor tour events is huge compared to playing Challengers. Several thousand dollars for showing up plus hospitality as opposed to a few hundred. Glenn is going to be handicapped financially as nobody cares about an American unless there's a story attached. So little in the way of endorsements. Even if he were South African (still) nobody would care. Look at how little respect Wayne Ferreira gets in S.A. for not being able to win a major.

Glenn will have the advantage of maturity if/when the money starts rolling in. But he may already be hundreds of thousands in the hole just getting to where he is now. Man, I know satie players who skimp on everything and end up owing big time. Kudos to Glenn for giving it a shot.

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[CrazyDiamond]

I agree with you about Wayne Ferreira.
In South Africa all the sports writers talk about is how his temper has hampered his career,and as you say because he did'nt win a Slam they dont give him his due respect.

I think Wayne is a legend,brilliant player and a really nice guy.
Most probably one of SAfrica's greatest sportsman of all time.

But Wayne smiles all the way to the bank. ....so screw the press.

So would you agree that between the Sponsors and the ATP,Pro Tennis has been badly run,and it still is being badly run.

[BoughtMyPoints]

Wayne is terrific off court. Of course, he's intense on court. Tennis is that kind of sport. You can't let up.

Wayne is one of those players disadvantaged by the change from grass court to hard court, even though he's done well on the latter surface. A generation earlier, Wayne would have at least been a Grand Slam finalist IMHO.

I don't think you can fault sponsors for their actions. The ATP is one sick puppy and it's amazing how in comparison the Slams (with the notable exeception of the U S Open) have re-invented themselves over the past years.

But if you want a sitting target, try the South African tennis federation. Ferriera is showing Madiba like qualities in dealing with those clowns. But hey our local tennis club is rudderless, as well, and I have voted with my feet!

[CrazyDiamond]

Okay so you're South African. ......that's nice ti hear.
Are you watching the US Open......you reckon Retief can hold off Mickelson.....I hope so.
The golf course has become completely insane.

The South African Tennis Federation...... Oh boy,we sure have a problem there.
They asked Glenn if he wanted to join the Davis Cup Team in 2002....he chose to stick with the USTA..thankGOD for that.

Where about in SA are you from.?

[BoughtMyPoints]

No, I am a non resident in S.A. (This makes sense in the S.A. context). I live very close to Sparrebosch and now play what little tennis that I do up there.

The USTA have the WC's, that's for sure. What can S.A. tennis offer? Not one w.c., as far as I know ... they only host the masters week in the Central African satie. No tour events, no challengers, not even a future.

[Luke Cage]

Hey doublepoints, is your ranking good enough to play U.S. qualies. If that's the case than why did you miss Roehampton, I would assume Wimbledon qualies to be the easist of the 4 majors since so many players drop out. Starace who is no grass court expert actually qualified as a lucky loser.