It was vintage American tennis, the likes of which we haven’t seen in years … and probably won’t see again.
Tennis greats Andre Agassi and John McEnroe, both American, faced off Saturday night in an exhibition match at the Los Angeles Tennis Center on the campus of UCLA. The match was a part of a special event titled Stars Under the Stars, which was sponsored by real estate firm Grubb & Ellis Co.
In the first Stars Under the Stars match of the evening, another American tennis player, Jim Courier, teamed up with rocker Gavin Rossdale in a doubles contest against comedian Jon Lovitz and Michael Chang, former world No. 2 who also represented America during his playing days.
Each player wore a microphone during the match, which was full of chuckles and playfulness.
So when McEnroe and Agassi took the court, the assumption was, at least in my mind, that they would be wearing microphones as well.
Of course I was wrong. But still, this won’t be that serious of a match, will it? It’s just an exhibition match between two old guys, right?
Wrong again.
The first set began fairly friendly, with both Agassi and McEnroe himself poking fun at the latter’s infamous temper. But after Agassi broke McEnroe en route to winning the first set 6-4, things began to get a little more heated ““ at least from McEnroe’s end of the court.
After falling down 4-0 in the second set, which he would lose 6-2, McEnroe gave the crowd what they were expecting: an outburst.
In the midst of several racket slams and conversations with himself, McEnroe snapped. A fan sitting behind McEnroe apparently stepped over the thin line between funny and obnoxious, as McEnroe let loose a litany of profanities that left the crowd in awe.
And when the match was over, McEnroe did not bother to chat with the on-court announcer, instead opting to grab his bags and stalk off the court, leaving an unenthusiastic wave to the crowd in his wake.
This was a reminder of the glory days of American tennis.
McEnroe, who is now 51, failed miserably at controlling his temper, not cracking a smile for the entire second set, even when provoked. With Agassi leading 4-0 in the second set, McEnroe hit a serve that was called out. Agassi then challenged the serve, even though the call was in his favor, much to the delight of the crowd.
But much to the chagrin of McEnroe.
At no point during the match did McEnroe look more uncomfortable than during Agassi’s attempt to lighten the mood. McEnroe maintained a scowl while looking at the umpire with disgust, clearly not enjoying the joke.
Now, I wasn’t sure if McEnroe was exaggerating, but one thing I was certain of is that it would be Agassi’s last attempt at humor on the night.
The point is, everyone at UCLA two nights ago got to see what American tennis used to be and hasn’t been since Agassi retired.
Even though he did his best to entertain the crowd and maintain a fun environment, Agassi was still hitting scorching returns up the sidelines. McEnroe was still coming to net every chance he got. Neither of these men wanted to lose: that was painfully clear.
And after the match, when Agassi was asked what special memories he had of the LA Tennis Open (now known as the Farmers Classic), which he won four times during his career, he answered that beating Pete Sampras was his fondest memory.
These two guys are fierce competitors, something I’m not sure we can say about our American tennis players today.
Yes, John Isner won his recent marathon match and stamped his name in the record books for good. But it was against Nicolas Mahut, someone who isn’t even ranked in the top 100 in the world.
Yes, Andy Roddick is ranked No. 9 in the world and has ascended to No. 1 previously in his career. But Roddick has only one Grand Slam followed by an endless list of disappointing defeats in big matches. It’s fair to say that he’ll never win a Grand Slam again ““ not with Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Juan MartÃn del Potro just entering their primes.
Oh, and these guys named Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are still hanging around.
However, there is one looming bright spot for American tennis, and that is world No. 20 Sam Querrey, the defending LA Tennis Open champion.
Querrey will look to defend his title this week, but the task ahead is gargantuan, as he will presumably have to go through world No. 4 Murray to do it.
But if Querrey can set up a date in the finals with Murray and win, Americans might be justified in saying this 22-year-old kid has a chance to salvage the American tennis tradition, one that was established by McEnroe, Agassi, Jimmy Connors and Sampras.
So Americans across the nation, cross your fingers and hope that Uncle Sam Querrey has what it takes.
Because after seeing the gritty display McEnroe put on Saturday night, we are nowhere near representing America the way it should be represented.