Agassi unveils plans for local tournament

Victoria Sun

Monday, Feb. 12, 2001 | 10:33 a.m.

When Andre Agassi was a budding tennis star, he never had the luxury of playing any prominent junior tournaments in his hometown.

Instead, the Las Vegas native headed to Southern California and other tennis hot spots to compete against top juniors such as Pete Sampras and Michael Chang.

"I was in a different position because I found myself needing to play on a national level," Agassi said of the constant traveling. "I always enjoy playing here in Vegas and it would have been nice for them to come here and visit me."

Thanks to Agassi and best friend Perry Rogers, Las Vegas' finest junior players will finally be able to sleep in their own beds and contend for a national title.

In honor of Josh and Jason Muterspaw, Agassi and Rogers have founded the Muterspaw Championships, a national tournament for girls and boys in the 12, 14, 16 and 18 age groups. The Muterspaw brothers attended Chaparral and were two of the best tennis players to come from Southern Nevada.

Agassi and Rogers talked about the tournament last week after unveiling plans for the $4.1 million Andre Agassi College Prepatory charter school that opens this fall across the street from the Doolittle Community Center.

Josh Muterspaw, who was ranked No. 1 in the 18-and-under age group in Southern Nevada, died in 1994 at 18 following a long fight against adrenal cancer. Jason, who was ranked No. 1 in the Intermountain section in the boys 14s, 16s and 18s, died in a car crash on Interstate 15 last February at 28.

"The Muterspaws were a close family with all of us growing up," Agassi said. "I just believe that a life lived such as theirs and as wonderful as those two boys were, to honor them would be a great thing to do.

"They loved tennis. It's how we knew each other and this will be in memory of them."

The Muterspaw Championships will be held May 3-6 at various sites throughout Las Vegas including the Fertitta Tennis Complex, Red Rock Country Club and Canyon Gate. The format will be a draw of 32 with a full feed-in consolation.

It will be a national tournament sanctioned by the United States Tennis Association.

The winner of the boys 18 bracket will receive a wild card entry in the qualifying tournament of the Franklin Templeton Classic in Scottsdale, Ariz., and the winner of the girls 18s will receive a wildcard into qualifying of the State Farm Tennis Classic, a week prior to the Templeton in Scottsdale.

"We're very excited about it because this is the only national tournament in the country other than Kalamazoo (Mich.) that gives a wildcard into the main draw of the U.S. Open that will give a wildcard into another pro tournament," Rogers said.

Agassi is hopeful the tournament will improve the level of junior tennis in Nevada.

"You need the experience of playing tournaments and to have tennis here on a competitive level is only good for the infrastructure for the community as well as the game of tennis," he said.