The level of play on both sides improved as the match progressed , with Bouchard and Isner controlling most of the action but Graf showed signs of her former brilliance with great net play . She and Fish took game one by the score of 15-14 . Game two was pretty much the same — back-and-forth action then at match point , Bouchard netted a return after Graf hit a net cord that barely dropped over the net .
Team Agassi was now up 2-0 in the standings . “ We had a little luck on our side and we both felt really comfortable out there ,” said Graf .
“ She ’ s a pretty good partner , huh ? It was all pretty cool !” exclaimed Fish .
The main event was saved for match # 3 : the featured doubles pairings of Graf and Agassi against Roddick and Bouchard . “ I ’ m very excited , but also very nervous ,” said Bouchard prior to the match . “ I have to say that Andy Roddick and I don ’ t have the advantage that Andre and Steffi have of being married , so I feel they have great team chemistry . Andy and I haven ’ t practiced much at all .”
After the husband-and-wife tandem took game one 15‐9 , Bouchard and Roddick steadied their ground and net game and won game two by the score of 15-10 .
That set the stage for game three , which would be played to 11 points . Graf ’ s hands were exceedingly fast on a few points , one a reflex volley off a net cord that earned her a kiss from Andre . However , with Bouchard serving for the win and 2 points for the standings , Agassi netted a return — and for the first time in the three-year history of the event , Pickleball Slam went to a Dreambreaker as Team Agassi and Team Roddick were all knotted up at 2 apiece .
Andy Roddick is pumped up after hitting a winner .
Play would be men ’ s singles , with players rotating in after four total points . Up 5-2 , Fish hit perhaps the shot of the event as his running one-handed backhander wrapped itself around the pole and landed just inside the line .
At championship point , Agassi — as he was doing for most of the event — hit a sharp backhand winner crosscourt to close it out and claim the three-peat . “ This is so much fun . The winner came down to a shot I believed in a lot , and I made it .”
With the win , Andre and Steffi are automatically set to defend their title next year . Steffi remarked , “ I ’ ll try — I ’ ll try to be back , especially here in Las Vegas where we can play in front of family and friends .” •
Drew Wathey is a published author and screenwriter (“ A Season With Hope ”) and former director of communications for the PGA Tour ’ s Phoenix Open . Wathey is the owner of SportsLink , a home-based sports public relations and marketing company . He is also a national sports anchor for iHeart Radio . His family lives in Phoenix , Arizona .
Pickleball Slam 3 featured ( l to r ): Steffi Graf , husband Andre Agassi , Eugenie Bouchard and Andy Roddick .
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