His hamstring healthy, Agassi prepares for Paris

Victoria Sun

Tuesday, May 2, 2000 | 9:36 a.m.

An injured hamstring forced Las Vegas' Andre Agassi to retire during his second-round match against Jiri Vanek at the AT&T Challenge in Atlanta a few weeks ago.

But with some rest and training, there's not much that can keep the top-ranked Agassi from attempting to defend his French Open crown.

"It's great," Agassi said of his hamstring. "I've got a month to be ready for Paris so I'll be at my best by then."

So far, the year has been pretty successful for Agassi.

It started with Agassi winning his second career Australian Open singles title en route to a 13-4 tournament match record. More recently, Agassi helped the U.S. Davis Cup team avoid elimination by the Czech Republic in a quarterfinal tie with his second gritty Davis Cup performance of the year. He won both of his matches, setting up Pete Sampras for the victory.

After those heroics, Sampras called Agassi "certainly one of the best teammates I could ever dream of having."

The AT&T Challenge was the first clay court tournament Agassi entered this year in preparation for the French Open, played on red clay at Stade Roland Garros in Paris.

And before he can begin defending his title, there are still several important clay court events -- the Tennis Masters Series in Rome, which starts next week, and the Tennis Masters Series in Hamburg the week after -- that will help Agassi make the transition from hard courts.

"Physically, it's hard work (to play on clay) so I've been training hard and trying to get in great shape," Agassi said. "Mentally, it's hard work because you have to stay focused for long periods of time.

"My mind-set is real simple though. It's just a great honor to be defending champion at Roland Garros. I consider it an honor and a privilege and I will not go down without a fight."

By winning his first French Open, Agassi became the fifth man in history to have won all four Grand Slam events, joining Rod Laver, Don Budge, Roy Emerson and Fred Perry. Agassi also holds two U.S. Open titles and one Wimbledon crown.

Agassi was voted the 1999 ATP Tour player of the year, and picked up an ESPY award this Valentine's Day for being the 1999 men's tennis performer of the year.

Amid all the accolades and awards, Agassi remains humble -- and thankful that he got an early start in tennis.

"I played before I can remember, so the thing is, all I've known is tennis," he said. "I had those opportunities.

"I'd like to see the sport of tennis be made much more available to kids who might not have means to play it, to be able to bring tennis to kids who might not be able to afford it -- it's great not only for children, but for the sport."

Agassi is helping urban youngsters get interested in tennis through a program run by Ki Kroll at the Andre Agassi Boys & Girls Club.

"I think the tennis program is a way to reach kids," Agassi said. "It gets them involved in a sporting activity that focuses their energy, competitiveness and determination.

"It doesn't take much to get a college education through a scholarship in tennis. It's not easy to have the opportunity to play the game of tennis, but if it's given to you and you work at it, you can get an education."