After Agassi, who? No answer to sugar 038; spice question

That8217;s tennis, at least at the moment. It8217;s very white bread, strictly for the hard core to love and the casual fan to ignore except in special moments, which can8217;t happen without special players. And there8217;s the rub. There8217;s nobody with charisma and magnetism strong enough to pull tennis more into the mainstream. The last player with that muscle is now a bald father of two who is hopelessly suburban, and who8217;s one loss away from leaving the game and taking some of its soul with him.

Image is everything, as Andre Agassi famously said when he was hairier and brattier. And right now, tennis8217; image needs a dash of sugar and spice. When Agassi retires, which may happen next week, he will leave an empty space and you wonder when or if tennis will find someone watchable enough to fill it.

The value of having Agassi around wasn8217;t just for his tennis; it was for his aura. People were drawn to him, and therefore, drawn to tennis. He played, you watched, tennis won. Getting attention for himself and the sport came easily for the Zen Master, although not entirely naturally. About half of Agassi8217;s charisma was manufactured by Nike and those Canon commercials, which made him so photogenic and rebellious. They helped raise his profile and personality, because in reality, Agassi didn8217;t have knee-slapping humor or amazing wit. He had a defiant 8216;do and neon-coloured clothes and catchy commercials, and combined with his knack for hitting big shots, they made him irresistable.

Now that he8217;s on his way out, who8217;s in? Well, nobody. That8217;s the short-term answer for this tournament and this sport.

The top-rated men8217;s player, currently, is cut more in the Pete Sampras mould. That makes Roger Federer very dangerous to play and someone you8217;d pay to see. He also inherited Sampras8217; charisma, unfortunately, and has lost six of eight to Rafael Nadal. It would seem, then, that Nadal will be the Agassi of the next generation, except there are times when you want to tell him where to shove that annoying fist-pump. Besides, do you really trust a man who wears capri pants? James Blake is a nice guy but this is as good as he gets. Andy Roddick needs Jimmy Connors, his new coach, to teach him a thing about winning a crowd along with a few more tournaments. The wild card is Gael Monfils, an infectious and athletic Frenchman who turns 20 Friday. He is Kobe with a raquet, and will be quite dangerous once he learns how to use it.

He has another match left, maybe more. But for a player who hasn8217;t gone yet, Agassi sure is missed.

Shaun Powell