Agassi and Graf: Paris to love

Last Roland Garros tennis tournament, which was running the risk of failing mainly due to its low level, found its right place as the second most fascinating event in the world after Wimbledon thanks to its two final winners. Before the semifinals, Sampras, Kafelnikov, Rafter and Moya among men, and the Williams sisters, Kournikova and Davenport for women had been eliminated. Everything made think of a Spanish victory for men and the victory of Hingis for women. On the contrary, the Parisian tournament designated two exceptionl winners for their emotional and technical impact: American André Agassi and German Steffi Graf. The two undoubtedly represent two tennis stars. Yet, lately both were troubled by personal problems, besides considering the risk that they were now too old for a sport that week after week discovers new very young talents.
There are many analogies in the success of the former kid of Las Vegas and the extraordinary German blonde, starting from a tournament they risked of losing many times. For Agassi this happened already at the second turn, when the French player Clement was going to eliminate him only for two points. The "calvary" for Agassi went on up to the finals when Medvedev, who was winning by two sets to zero, had a break ball in the third set that would take him to serve for the title. As for Graf, who had suffered from many physical problems, she hardly seemed able to face up to determined antagonists like Kournikova, Davenport, Seles and mainly Hingis. Hoewever, in the final rush the German player prevailed over all her opponents, recovering at the age of 30 an exceptional pyisical condition. In the finals, Steffi was also going to lose against the Swiss world number one only for three points, but then she gradually managed to recover and finally win over the "computerized" tennis of Hingis, who, for the first time in her career, even burst into tears at the end of the match.
As previously said, both players had to deal with personal problems. Agassi recently got divorced from Broke Shields, the American actress who married André two years ago. Paradoxically, this delicate emotional situation helped the Nevada-based champion to recover his enthusiasm on the tennis court, where he poured all his energy.
As far as Graf is concerned, the last muscular accident following the divorce of her parents seemed to have cancelled her aspiration to return to the top. Two weeks before Steffi herself admitted of having thought of retiring after performing a horrible match before her fans. She went to Paris with the explicit intention of playing and maybe win some matches in preparation for Wimbledon, where she wanted to find her schemes. Yet, in the end she surprised everyone, including herself.
The conclusive tears of the two players are the touching and nearly magic ending Roland Garros 1999 offered to the public. These tears were well justified and therefore were passionately shared by the public.
Taken for granted that Paris brought about immense satisfaction for both players, when considering their personal troubles, only a numerical difference now divides them: for Agassi, the success achieved in the French event is the first one after two finals lost in 1990 and 1991, while for Graf this is the sixth victory 11 years after the first one, which means exceptional athletic longevity.
Yet, the American and German champions are very similar when considering their victories during trials in the Slam. Steffi was the only contemporary tennis player who managed to win in the four major trials, preventing finalist Hingis to reach her in this narrow elite by beating her in Paris. Among male players, Agassi can now boast this great title, too. Roland Garros was the only tennis tournament he had never won. The emotion with which he unexpectedly celebrated it almost at the age of thirty after two failed attempts expresses very well the mood of this unconventional former punk kid whom life has changed into a man.
 

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