"Tough for me to accept that I deserved to be the last guy Andre Agassi played"- When Benjamin Becker beat the American in final match at US Open 2006
Tennis icon Andre Agassi's career ended in 2006, with that year's US Open being his last tournament.
Agassi entered the tournament unseeded. He booked his place in the third round with wins over Andrei Pavel and eighth-seed Marcos Baghdatis, who had reached the 2006 Australian Open final. The American then lost 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-5 to German qualifier Benjamin Becker, bringing an end to a distinguished tennis career.
In his post-match press conference, the German said that it was tough for him to enjoy his win over Agassi. It was difficult for him to accept that he deserved to be the last player that the American faced.
"It was tough yesterday for me to enjoy it because it was tough for me to accept that I, you know, deserved to be the last guy that Agassi played, you know. I was kind of it was tough for me to really enjoy it as much as people maybe told me I should," Becker said.
The German also claimed that he might enjoy the match after he watches its DVD.
"You know, maybe I will, looking at the DVDs, looking maybe at everything else, I will later on. But, you know, even after the match, you know, I talked to some people and we tried to talk about the next match, the Roddick match, just not to lose focus because I was still in the tournament. So, yeah, I haven't really enjoyed it as much, but maybe I will later on," he added.
Benjamin Becker reached the fourth round, where he lost 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 to eventual runner-up Andy Roddick. His run to the fourth round of the 2006 US Open remains his best-ever performance at a Grand Slam.
Andre Agassi won the US Open twice
Andre Agassi won 79 out of 98 matches at the US Open, with two titles to his name. He made his debut at the major in 1986 and suffered a first-round defeat to Michael Bates.
The American's first title at the New York Major came in 1994 when he beat Michael Stich 6-1, 7-6(5), 7-5 in the final. He won it again in 1999, defeating Todd Martin 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(2), 6-3, 5-2 in the title clash.
Agassi reached another four finals at the US Open in 1990, 1995, 2002 and 2005. He lost to Pete Sampras in all of these barring 2005, when he was beaten by Roger Federer.