The back problem which has plagued his later years has restricted him to just 16 matches since his wonderful run to last year's final at Flushing Meadows and his recent form has not been worthy of a man with a strong claim to a place in the top 10 players of history.Agassi has won eight Grand Slam tournaments, putting him joint sixth on the all-time list (alongside, among others, Roger Federer). Andre Agassi made his Wimbledon debut at 17 but disliked the grass and did not return for four years. He showed even less respect for one of the other Grand Slam tournaments, ignoring the Australian Open until 1995.Tennis, however, specialises in turning its youthful tearaways into revered middle-aged sages. "I've discussed it with my own people to find a way of gathering the right people together to buy those trophies and do right by the game to purchase them," he said. "The thought of a Wimbledon trophy being in the hands of somebody who has a lot of money is upsetting. Wimbledon is the greatest tournament in the world." Rewind some 18 years and you would have got long odds about that defender of the game's soul being an outspoken, spiky-haired rebel with apparently little time for the sport's traditions and whose outrageous outfits were matched only by the colour of his on-court language.
The injury has left her unable to defend her US Open crown next week.. When Bjorn Borg put his Wimbledon trophies up for auction earlier this year one of the senior statesmen of tennis talked of forming a consortium to buy them. The Belgian had initially feared she would be out of action for more than two months. Andre Agassi will have to work hard to make his retirement tournament a successful one as he starts against the Romanian Andrei Pavel before a possible second-round meeting with the Wimbledon semi-finalist Marcos Baghdatis. The former women's champion Serena Williams, who is unseeded after six months out with a knee injury, meets Lourdes Dominguez Lino but could play the world No 18 Daniela Hantuchova in round two. The top seed Am?e Mauresmo will start against a qualifier while the second seed Justine Henin-Hardenne has what looks an easy opener against the Italian Elena Camerin. The world No 2 Kim Clijsters may return earlier than expected as a scan on her wrist suggested the injury could heal more quickly, a source close to the player said yesterday.
They don't come any bigger than Grand Slams." Five British players Josh Goodall, Richard Bloomfield, Katie O'Brien, Sarah Borwell and Melanie South are hoping to secure a place through qualifying. The second seed Rafael Nadal has been handed a difficult test against the Australian wild card Mark Philippoussis, who reached the final in 1998, when he lost to Pat Rafter. "Both of us would like our rankings to be higher and we have to do well in big events. It will be particularly galling for Henman, now down to 62nd in the world rankings, as he was thrashed by Federer in the second round of Wimbledon this summer. Rusedski, who last beat his long-time British rival in Germany in 1998, has slumped even lower to a ranking of 138. Henman said: "It is never easy playing against somebody from the same country. Greg and I have played some very important matches against each other over the years, and this one is just as important.
His first major test is likely to come in a third-round tie with the 10th seed Fernando Gonzalez. The prospect of facing Federer, who begins against Yeu-Tzuoo Wang of Taiwan, will be a big blow for Henman and Rusedski, who are both desperate to get their season back on track. It will be the 10th time the unseeded British pair have played each other, with Henman winning their last six encounters. The draw favoured the British No 1 and No 17 seed Andy Murray, who will play a qualifier in the opening round. Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski have been drawn together in the first round of the US Open - with the victor facing the prospect of meeting the world No 1 Roger Federer in round two. Police arrested Barkley and two other men after a fight during a night out on 30 July A man had his jaw broken in the incident. Barkley answered bail yesterday and was released with no further action..