TNT Sports
Agassi nears the end
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Published 02/09/2005 at 19:31 GMT+1
"He knows this is the last time, though whether that's a matter of months or weeks we don't know," Gil Reyes, Andre Agassi's long-time personal trainer, revealed to Eurosport at Flushing Meadows. The two-time U.S. Open champion realises: "Now is the time.
Eurosport
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"We just don't know - hopefully years. But we know we're at the end of a wonderful career, one that he's very grateful for. He understands that he must bring everything he has," Reyes added.
It was when Agassi returned to Las Vegas in May, after a second consecutive first round defeat at Roland Garros, that the 35-year-old remedied to start all over again.
"At Roland Garros it was an eye-opener," said Reyes. Agassi lost to Finnish qualifier Jarkko Nieminen.
Sciatic nerve problems in Agassi's back were to blame and regular cortisone injections every few months this season have dictated the veteran's schedule.
"When we returned from Paris, he said we're going to do this right," explained Reyes. "He insisted: 'I'm not finished.'"
Reyes told Eurosport of how Agassi's training regime had been slightly modified as a result of the back injury.
It came as little surprise to tennis journalists that Agassi withdrew from Wimbledon.
Playing at the grass-court major championship would have jeopardised his hard-court campaign and a chance to play at a 20th U.S. Open.
Back at his Las Vegas base, Agassi remained true to his mantra: 'Just keep working'. He trained harder than ever.
"It was a new Andre," Reyes insists.
"We trained harder than ever, longer than ever, more than ever and right now he's more fit at 35 than he was at 25."
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