Andre Agassi ... ready to serve it up one last time. - Reuters

NEW YORK (AP):

Beneath the stands of Arthur Ashe Stadium, posters of U.S. Open champions decorate the otherwise spartan hallways leading to the door Andre Agassi will step through to reach centre court for the final time.

There, on a wall between photos of Pete Sampras and Andy Roddick, is a shot of Agassi from his 1994 triumph. His blond hair is long, his face is unshaven, his shirt's a loud purple, and his accessories include a pinkie ring, a dangling earring and a chain necklace, all gold.

The get-up says 'rebel', and that was certainly his reputation for the first decade or so of his pro career.

Elder statesman

The Agassi who will play in his last U.S. Open - indeed, his last tournament - looks quite different, from the bald pate on down. And his reputation has changed as much as his appearance.

He leaves the game as an elder statesman, not merely because he's 36, but also because of his success on the court and his demeanor and extensive charity work off it. Through all the in-the-public-eye parts of his personal life (Barbara Streisand; Brooke Shields; Steffi Graf) and ups and downs of his professional life (career Grand Slam; No. 1 in 1995; No. 141 in 1997; back to No. 1 in 1999), he's been one of tennis' most dynamic and popular players.

"I hope when I get back to the familiar sights and sounds of Arthur Ashe Stadium that something takes over," Agassi said, "but I don't know what to expect. That's the part of it that's pretty hard to get my arms around."

He needs cortisone injections to deal with the pain and allow freedom of movement, and whatever soothing effects the shots provide last only weeks now instead of months.

There's also the matter of match practice, of getting into a groove by facing top competition in a string of outings before a big event. He doesn't have the benefit of that, either, having pulled out of two events this month.

Still, it's quite clear that it's not about wins and losses at this point. It's about saying, "So long," for Agassi and for everyone else.

One last showing

"There's a lot of great feelings associated with what I'm going through. There's real excitement. There's sadness in knowing that a big chapter of your life that you've poured yourself into is coming to a close, and there's excitement for the future, for the next stage, the next adventure," Agassi said. "You're saying goodbye to a job, you're saying goodbye to people you've done it with, but you also are in position to take the next plunge in life. And, you know, I've just never done this before."

It's not surprising that Agassi himself, along with the USTA, TV executives and fans, would like to see him make one last good showing. Perhaps something akin to Jimmy Connors' fist-pumping parade to the 1991 U.S. Open semi-finals at age 39, considered so thrilling to this day that rain delays prompt producers to dust off the old footage.

But other players want Agassi to go out on a high, too.

"Oh, yeah, I would love to see him win many matches. That's the first thing I think every player looks at this time around: Who does Agassi play? Where is he in the draw?" two-time defending champion Roger Federer said. "He's got a tough draw, there's no question. But I still hope he's going to have a good run like last year.