Andre Agassi: Living Legend

If you aren't watching tennis this week, you are missing a seriously unbelievable tournament. I never liked tennis until a couple years ago; only started playing because it gave me something to do on dates with my girlfriend. Now, I love the game. And, Andre Agassi is probably my favorite athlete ever.

In a game dominated by tough serving, he survives as a returner. He outplays players 10 years his junior and moves around the court like a jack rabbit.

And, for anyone looking for basketball cross training, tennis might be the best possible sport to use. The lateral movement, quick starts and stops, crossover steps, etc. are very similar to those in basketball.

Today may go down as one of the greatest days in American tennis history (well, on the men's side). Robby Genepri won a five set thriller against Guillermo Coria; both players hit unbelievable shots and returned everything. Rallies that seemed over continued for three or four more shots. In the evening, Agassi defeated James Blake in an epic battle that ended in a fifth set tiebreak. Again, both players simply got to balls that were ungettable and hit improbable winners. Even in defeat, Blake smiled, knowing Agassi had pushed him to his best.

In this sense, these matches truly defined competition, which derives from Latin roots which mean "to seek together." In these matches, the competition between Ginepri/Coria and Agassi/Blake truly brought out the best in each player, as competition originally intended.

Ginepri plays Agassi on Saturday. I highly recommend it.