was overturned . The change in the baseline call spurred on the Queens , New York , native , who went on to win the first game 15-13 .
Agassi changed up his strategy for Game 2 , employing his famed two-handed backhand that produced winners early on , and went up 4-3 . While Agassi was gaining control of the rules of the game , Johnny Mac continually questioned the head umpire . Agassi took notice : “ I have an eighth-grade education . It ’ s not that hard to understand .”
What McEnroe understood though was how to come from behind in both games and defeat Agassi , displaying his adept game at the kitchen line with winning volleys as the second game went to Mac , 16-14 . “ I tried to outlast him , but I couldn ’ t ,” said Agassi .
After the match , McEnroe , euphoric with the win , shouted , “ I won a match , baby !”
Many people expected Chang ’ s quickness to be a deciding factor in his match with Roddick , who at 6 ’ 2 ” was the foursome ’ s tallest competitor , and it showed early on with Chang jumping out early 3-0 in Game 1 . But Roddick ’ s court coverage surprised Chang and the 40-year-old displayed some of his tennis forehand prowess , blasting winners and winning the first game 15-10 . He garnered that momentum for a quick 8-1 start in Game 2 , smothering Chang at the kitchen line with winners off both wings . Roddick , who once hit a serve at Wimbledon of 146 mph , showed off a nasty low-trajectory pickleball serve that had some spin on it . It proved to be extremely effective in his match with Chang , 51 , and he closed it out at 15-10 with a backhand winner down the line .
“ Andy served really well , and I didn ’ t expect him to pass that well . It was tough out there ,” said Chang . Roddick realized that despite serving underhand in pickleball , it can prove to be a weapon during match play : “ Movement still matters and keeping space between you and your opponent .”
Then came the showdown in doubles . Agassi / Roddick vs . Chang / McEnroe . This is where all four legends who were playing for their respective charities were primed and ready for action , and it clearly showed with tremendous court play resulting in terrific exchanges at the kitchen line . Johnny Mac had a few unforced errors , which helped Agassi / Roddick take Game 1 , 21-15 , but the Mac and Chang duo forced a third-game tiebreaker by eking out a hard-fought Game 2 , 23-21 .
Perhaps the point of the match was in the second game . With McEnroe / Chang up 4-1 , after some quick and reactive volleys , Agassi hit an overhead that Mac — while backpedaling — was able to hit as a low return that Agassi tried to dink back over but hit the net cord . The crowd
Another legendary tennis player , Steffi Graf , also Agassi ’ s wife , tries out her patented forehand .
erupted , as did Johnny Mac with another shout of “ Come on !” Chang noticed his partner was still as fiery as ever : “ John is taking this thing really seriously . The competitive juices just say , ‘ Bring it on !’”
A surprise highlight during doubles action was the appearance of another member of the Agassi household , Andre ’ s wife Steffi Graf , who took McEnroe ’ s paddle and hit some of her classic forehands that produced 22 Grand Slam singles titles in tennis . The break in the action was met with thunderous applause from the crowd . Afterward , McEnroe told Graf , “ Thanks for showing me how it ’ s done .”
The level of play intensified as the match wore on and those juices continued to flow in the tiebreaker . Back and forth high-quality action continued until Agassi / Roddick served it out , winning 12-10 and taking home the inaugural Pickleball Slam title .
“ Nothing like being on national television and playing a game you don ’ t really know to strike up the nerves !” said Roddick . “ It was so much fun and [ I ’ ll take ] any excuse to create a new thing to learn so I can text Andre for the next 10 weeks again .”
But it was Agassi who may have summed up his new experience of pickleball with the most clarity : “ I will tell you this . I love finally doing something that I can actually get better at , because I started going downhill in tennis a long time ago . Pickleball is where tennis players go to die , so I ’ m officially dying . But what I will say , 100 percent — I never thought I ’ d say this — as long as I can walk , I ’ m playing . I cannot wait to get out there .” •
Drew Wathey is the author of “ A Season With Hope ” and former director of communications for the PGA Tour ’ s Phoenix Open . Wathey is 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 .
MAY / JUNE 2023 | MAGAZINE 53