Don’t miss this superb Jay Winick/Opinion Journal op-ed on tennis icon, Andre Agassi, who retired gracefully this past weekend after after putting on a stirring performance during the first three rounds of the U.S. Open tournament in New York.
I’ve never met Agassi, but I have followed his career with interest because of our mutual friendship with prominent Las Vegas attorney, David Chesnoff. Several years ago, I had the pleasure of spending a morning with Agassi’s parents while Andre’s father gave David’s son a tennis lesson at the Agassi’s Las Vegas home where they have lived for several decades. Andre’s parents are wonderfully down-to-earth folks who are a joy to be around, so it’s no surprise to me that their son has matured into a fine man.
By the way, although probably not the greatest tennis player of his generation, Agassi nevertheless is one of the most remarkable athletes of this era. A case in point is a golf game that he played several years ago with David in which Agassi faced a daunting recovery shot around trees to a small green protected by a lake. Agassi grabbed a 3-iron, sized up the situation and then hammered a 200 yard shot that sliced around the trees on to the green, stopping 15 feet from the cup. Agassi calmly put the club back in his bag, jumped into the golf cart, looked at David and asked with a wink:

“So, David. What’s so tough about this game again?”