Pinoy in Wimbledon main draw

There’s a Filipino playing in the main draw at Wimbledon and Cecil Mamiit hopes to make an auspicious debut with doubles partner Kevin Kim in the prestigious grand slam tennis tournament.

It’s not Mamiit’s first time to compete on English grass. He saw action as a singles player in 1999, 2001 and 2002 but never got past the first round. But playing doubles at Wimbledon is a completely new experience for Mamiit who turned 30 last Tuesday.

Mamiit and Kim made it to the main draw via the backdoor, scoring two qualifying wins to book their ticket. The clincher was a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 sweep of Sanchai and Sonchat Ratiwatan of Thailand. The Ratiwatan brothers won the men’s doubles gold at the recent Southeast Asian (SEA) Games at the expense of Mamiit and another Fil-Am campaigner Eric Taino.

Mamiit and Kim take on Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina and Luis Horna of Peru in their opening Wimbledon match. The doubles event has 64 competing teams.

Randy Villanueva, former national juniors champion and 2005 SEA Games tennis tournament director, said Mamiit’s Wimbledon appearance is noteworthy because no other Filipino has made it to the main draw in years.

Villanueva said no matter the results, Mamiit’s qualification will be a boost to his confidence when he leads the Philippines in Davis Cup action at the Manila Polo Club starring July 17. Mamiit is also committed to play for the Philippines at the Asian Games in Doha late this year.

Villanueva said Mamiit was initially listed in the Wimbledon order of battle as an American player. But Ajay Pathak of the Philippine Tennis Association notified the organizers that the Association of Tennis Professionals recognizes Mamiit as a Filipino. Pathak’s timely advice has corrected the error in the official Wimbledon website which now identifies Mamiit’s country of origin as the Philippines.

To prepare for Wimbledon, Mamiit teamed up with Chris Drake to win the Forest Hills doubles championship in New York last May. Mamiit and Drake beat Eric Butorac and Mirko Pehar, 6-3, 1-6, 12-10, in the finals.

Since his golden performance at the SEA Games last December, Mamiit has kept busy in the tennis circuit and continues to improve on his world ranking. At Forest Hills, he lost to Robert Kenrick in the singles finals. In Busan and Yuba City a few weeks ago, he reached the singles semifinals.

While Filipino fans will keep track of Mamiit’s progress at Wimbledon, it is Andre Agassi who’s the center of attraction on the world stage.

Agassi, 36, is playing in his final Wimbledon and will retire after the US Open starting Aug. 28. Announcing the farewell tour has put added pressure on Agassi who shook off early jitters to beat Boris Pashanski of Serbia, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 in his opening Wimbledon match the other day.

Agassi turned pro in 1986 and has captured 60 singles titles, including eight of the grand slam variety. He is one of only five male players in history to win all four grand slam tournaments — Wimbledon, the US Open, the Australian Open and the French Open. Agassi has earned over $31 Million in prize money throughout his career. In contrast, Mamiit has bankrolled a little more than $1 Million in a 10-year pro career.

Agassi’s tennis odyssey has been like a dream. He began his career as a long-haired tennis maverick, wearing denim shorts and swinging a two-fisted backhand. Today, he is considerably mellowed with a shaven skull and a body battered by the wear and tear of a grueling sport. Through the years, Agassi has been hampered by a sciatic nerve condition in his lower back, a sprained ankle, a broken wrist, a hip problem and an assortment of other injuries.

Agassi was ranked No. 1 in the world in 1995 but slid to No. 141 two years later when he lost his focus as a competitor, basking in the limelight as a celebrity and marrying actress Brooke Shields. His marriage to Shields ended in divorce after two years. Agassi later married tennis star Steffi Graf and is now a happy family man with two children, Jaden, 4 and Jaz, 2.

Last year, Agassi defied the odds and Father Time by advancing to the US Open finals against top-seeded Roger Federer. Agassi took a set from Federer but nothing more in losing at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Agassi’s trainer Gil Reyes said the 1996 Olympic gold medalist is determined to exit with a bang.

"He’s going to play to win," said Reyes. " I can tell you this — he’s not playing Wimbledon just to hear cheers from the crowd. He remains as fierce a competitor and wants to win as badly as ever. Andre has not stopped fighting and battling. That’s the competitor in him."

As to whether the decision to hang up his racket is final, Reyes said only Agassi knows for sure.

"Only Andre knows if it" s final," said Reyes. "He’s put a great deal of thought into this. He probably knew in his heart, this was the right time."