The long goodbye

After 20 years of professional tennis and with his creaking body on the verge of collapse, Andre Agassi finally bade farewell to the sport at the 2006 US Open. In a career that had seen the highs of eight Grand Slam titles and the lows of plunging to No 141 in the world and taking crystal meth, there had been one constant: adoration from the Flushing Meadows crowd. Agassi entered the Arthur Ashe Stadium one final time to face Germany's Benjamin Becker. Clearly in a huge amount of discomfort, and despite giving everything, the American eventually succumbed to a 7-5 6-7 6-4 7-5 defeat, then broke down in tears as he was given a four-minute standing ovation by the emotional crowd