Andre is still a tennis giant
By STEVE SIMMONS -- Toronto Sun
MONTREAL -- Behind the yellow security ropes, the people lined up for no other reason than to catch a glimpse up close. Hundreds upon hundreds of them almost as far as you could see.
After all these years, Andre Agassi, husband, father, ancient by tennis terms at 33, isn't only an attraction, he is the attraction at the Tennis Masters tournament that still should be known as the Canadian Open.
They still scream for him. They still shriek for him. Adults. Youngsters. It doesn't seem to matter the age. What matters is he is here and they were here at Stade du Maurier last night to see him on centre court against a little known Canadian.
They were here to line up when it's over, just to call out his name, get a blurry snapshot, maybe an autograph, a wave or a smile. This isn't just about being the No. 1 tennis player in the world. It isn't that simple. The No. 2 player, Juan Carlos Ferrero, wouldn't draw a quorum, let alone a crowd.
You would think, after all these years, that some of this would wear off. The very concept of the tennis player as rock star. It even shocks Agassi, who understood what it was to a phenom, and now knows how to play the part.
"It's an incredible feeling," he said late last night, after disposing of the kid from Sherbrooke, Frederic Niemeyer, in two rather uneventful and predictable sets. "You come to a place like Montreal and feel this kind of support. Playing against a Canadian I didn't expect it.''
Never mind that the Montreal audience, right from the beginning, was as much behind Agassi as it was behind the 27-year-old Niemeyer, who has played seven times in this tournament as a wild card entry, losing in the first round each time.
Never mind that just steps away from centre court, the expatriot Montrealer, Greg Rusedski was playing his opening round match on Court 1 to a crowd smaller than those who lined up outside the stadium to just peek at Agassi.
There are other players here -- Ferrero, the next best thing Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt (but not fourth seed Carlos Moya who lost his opening match), just none who can bring a stadium to life, none who can almost turn Quebecers against their own.
The evening could have had a David and Goliath atmosphere about it, but neither the crowd nor Niemeyer seemed able to make this historic. Even Agassi was expecting more from the youngster. If I'm in his shoes, I'm thinking tonight I play the match of my life. When you play (an unknown) I'm prepared for them to play the match of their lives."
Niemeyer didn't have it within him. As soon as Agassi read his game -- he needed a few minutes to figure it out -- it was only a matter of when. Rocky had no answer for Appollo Creed. Niemeyer was no Rocky.
"I thought I was in for a more difficult night than I wanted," Agassi said. "He missed three second serves in a row."
You do that against Agassi, and you're not standing at the end, the loser on points. But then, organizers had to be thrilled just to get the schedule under way yesterday. The weather in Montreal was hardly co-operative. It rained in the morning and afternoon. Twice play had to be stopped. After the second stoppage, it didn't look as though the evening program would get underway.
But everybody played and without doing any more than winning a match he was supposed to win, Agassi's path to the final grew more pleasant.
His next match is against the winner of young Canadian, Frank Dancevic and little known Nikolay Davydenko. With Moya and Gustavo Kuerten out, there is hardly a challenge worth waiting for on his side of the draw. The other half has Roger Federer, Hewitt and Ferrero.
And Agassi, three times a champion in Canada, likes the city, the crowd, and surprisingly the courts. Two years ago he came here, hated the fast courts and lost in the opening round. Those courts are faster than what is played at the U.S. Open. These, he says, are slower, more to his liking, better for tennis.
Better for the enthusiasts here in Montreal. The longer Andre Agassi stays alive this week, the more alive this tournament will be.
