THE ATTRACTION IS AGASSI IN MERCEDES-BENZ CUP.Byline: Matthew Kredell Staff Writer Andre Agassi Andre Kirk Agassi (born April 29 1970, in Las Vegas, Nevada) is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from the United States who won eight Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. could be playing in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. for the final time of his career as the ATP ATP: see adenosine triphosphate. ATP in full adenosine triphosphate Organic compound, substrate in many enzyme-catalyzed reactions (see catalysis) in the cells of animals, plants, and microorganisms. makes its only stop of the year in the city for the Mercedes-Benz Cup, which begins today and goes through Sunday at UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX . Playing for the first time since losing in the opening round of the French Open in May, Agassi will need to carry the event after third-ranked Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick (born August 30, 1982) is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is the top-ranked American player and fifth-ranked player in the world as of October 1, 2007. He finished sixth in the 2006 ATP Race. withdrew Friday because of a sore knee. No other player ranked in the world's top 20 is playing in the tournament. Of course, if anyone can carry a tournament it is Agassi, the game's biggest name. ``We we're very sorry to learn of Andy's injury and we wish him a speedy recovery,'' said Mercedes-Benz Cup director Bob Kramer. ``Led by Andre Agassi, we have a very strong draw, and we're looking forward to a tremendous tournament. Strong may be an overstatement o·ver·state tr.v. o·ver·stat·ed, o·ver·stat·ing, o·ver·states To state in exaggerated terms. See Synonyms at exaggerate. o but there are some compelling players surrounding the top-seeded Agassi, including a couple of former highly ranked players who are trying to play their way back up in the rankings in Tommy Haas Thomas Mario Haas (born April 3, 1978) is a German tennis player. He is 6 ft 1+1⁄2 in (187 cm) tall and plays right-handed. He is currently ranked #10 in the world. He reached a career-high ranking of World No. 2 in May 2002. and Nicolas Kiefer. Haas, who is No. 27 in the world after being as high as No. 2 three years ago, is the defending champion. ``I kind of fell in love with the tournament the first time I got there,'' Haas said of the Mercedes-Benz Cup. ``It's great weather and a great atmosphere. I really enjoy being out there in Hollywood. I'm coming back to a tournament I love playing with great memories, and I'm going to try to repeat that.'' Bothered by various back, hip and toe injuries this season, Agassi, 35, missed Wimbledon last month and pulled out of the RCA See RCA connector and video/TV history. Championships in Indianapolis last week. Although Agassi, ranked sixth in the world, is the tournament's only top-20 player, there are eight more ranked in the top 40. The field is wide open for someone such as fifth-seeded Taylor Dent, from Newport Beach, to get a big victory near his hometown. Dent, ranked 30th in the world, has an interesting first-round match against friend Mardy Fish, an American ranked No. 68. Another good first-round match is No. 43 Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand against No. 32 Mario Ancic of Croatia. Agassi opens against a qualifier to be determined. Tickets can be bought at the gate, from Ticketmaster or by calling 310-825-2101. CAPTION(S): box Box: MERCEDES-BENZ CUP |
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