For Agassi Only Time Will Tell

Andre Agassi learned the hard way Tuesday afternoon in Miami that it's getting tougher and tougher to win matches when he's not playing at his best. The soon-to-be 34-year-old Vegas showman was manhandled by unheralded Argentine Agustin Calleri 6-2, 7-6(2) in the fourth round match at the ATP NASDAQ-100.

Agassi never looked like a player who entered the match having won 19 straight matches in Miami and six prior titles, but rather someone who was looking for game that was nowhere to be found. More often than not, that's still enough for the eight-time Slam winner to get by. Not Tuesday. Give credit to Calleri, who came out of the box slapping winners from the baseline like it was practice.

Armed with lethal groundstrokes and a fitter, trimmer physique, the 27-year-old Calleri blasted backhand winners down the line seemingly at will in the early going. At the time, Agassi had no answer. And never did he find one.

“He started off, he was just hitting the ball so well. He was just playing too good for a long stretch of time out there,” Agassi said afterward. “I got into the set, which I think allowed me to settle down and allowed him to settle down. I had some chances there when I didn't convert. He just played a good tiebreaker, and that was it.”

For Agassi, the loss raises a bigger question, one he doesn't want to answer anytime soon: “How much longer?” How much more tennis is left in his body? When asked if such losses changed his future plans, Agassi quickly replied, “No. Those questions do, though.”

His game is still there and it continues to evolve from a once brutish baseline basher to a now tactical battlefield general. Just look back at how well he played at Indian Wells a week ago in dismantling rising foes in Mikhail Youzhny and Guillermo Coria and nearly getting the better of current No. 1 Roger Federer.

But remember, Agassi is not a fading journeyman or a veteran looking to squeeze every last dollar out of the tour, he is a champion. He's not about just playing to compete and win matches, but about playing to win titles and Grand Slams.

“It's disappointing not to win. It's always disappointing. But, you know, I try to assess how I'm playing more than that,” Agassi added. “Sometimes it doesn't happen right away when you play well. You know, felt like I've been playing -- played well in Australia , played well last week. I was playing well this week but just ran into a guy that played a lot better.”

Agassi has always been one of the games best frontrunners -- this year however it appears time is finally catching up. Agassi has yet to claim a title through the first three months of this season (his last coming in Houston nearly a year ago), a time during which he customarily collects most of his tournament trophies. In fact, the last time Agassi failed to win a title during the first three months of the season was back in 1999, when he was going through his divorce with Brooke Shields.

Plus, Agassi has said that he will likely pass on any clay preparation leading up to Roland Garros, which begins May 24 -- with two kids and plenty of off court responsibilities, one cannot blame him. But Roland Garros has always been a tough test for the American, and this year figures to be even tougher. And a Wimbledon run looks shaky with Federer's new confidence. But hey, as fans we've all seen him pull rabbits out from under his hat before -- hopefully this magician will let us see one more.