Andre Evens the Score

The 2005 Mercedes-Benz Cup final was only the second career meeting between "The Legend" Andre Agassi and 22-year-old Gilles Muller. Their only other meeting was in the 2004 Legg Mason semifinal, when Muller made the headlines of his home country Luxembourg by defeating Agassi in straight sets (6-4,7-5).

Andre has always been known to be meticulous about everything on court: he won't begin play until the ballkids are in their correct places or until the balls are evenly distributed on the deuce and ad sides if he's serving. It's only fittingly symmetrical that his win over Muller in the LA final has the same scoreline as his previous defeat: 6-4,7-5.

This is also Andre's first title this year, made even more impressive by the fact that he had been out with injury up until this week's campaign. His wife and Golden Slam winner Steffi Graf was in attendance with their little girl Jaz Elle, and coach Darren Cahill had much to say to Andre as he congratulated the 35-year-old on the title. Afterwards, it was Brad Gilbert, Andre's former coach, who did the post-match interview on court. Agassi seemed very pleased with his performance. If all goes well, he will be a force to reckon with at the US Open.

UPDATE: Agassi has pulled out of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, citing a desire to conserve energy for the US Open. This marks the first time in the past 16 years that he will not be playing in Washington.

posted by Noelle De Guzman @ 8:56 AM