Arguably one of the most recognizable figures in the world ofprofessional tennis, player Andre Agassi has announced that hewill be retiring from the sport after the 2006 U.S. Open.Currently aged 36, Andre's tennis career has spanned 20 years.His career was a long-lasting one that saw him play on whileother players of his age range retired. He was a true master ofthe sport, held in regards with Pete Sampras and Jim Courier.Andre's career saw its first speck of glory when he won theWimbledon tournament in the year of 1992. The odds were stackedagainst Agassi; many critics felt that due to his method ofbaseline playing, he wouldn't be able to hold a candle to theother competitors in the event. He proved them wrong, as hewould time and time again. One of the major highlights of hiscareer is the fact that he won all four Grand Slams - he wasonly the fifth man in the history of the sport to do so. Anotherimportant thing to note is that Andre has won 8 major titlesthroughout the course of his career, a highly significantachievement in the unpredictable world of professional tennis.All that is not to say that his career went perfectly; he wasfraught with peril in 1997, bogged down due to injury which sawhis ranking drop to a meager #141. As all true athletes,however, he saw this setback as an opportunity to betterhimself. He went on to play two Challenger events which saw hisrank increase. Many people saw Agassi as a popular figurethroughout tennis. Without a doubt, he is one of the mostrecognizable, and one of the common faces pushed in the tennisworld. His free spirit and his undying philanthropy can be seendue to the fact that he's donated literally millions of hisearnings over the years to such notable causes as helpingunderprivileged children in his hometown of Las Vegas. The AndreAgassi Charitable Foundation works towards his goals to thisvery day. Needless to say, Andre will be missed by tennisplayers and fans alike. He brought a certain touch of fun andadventure to the game, and he will never be forgotten in theannals of tennis fame.
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