Las Vegas: Tennis Dreams Planted in the Desert by Joel Drucker Conventional wisdom has it that in Las Vegas it's all a top down affair. Big names, big glamour, big money - big, big, big. But when it comes to tennis, a better way to grasp what this town is all about requires a closer look at the ground than at the stars.
Head out to the edge of this town, and the austerity of the desert issues a harsh statement: If you don't build it, they won't come. Well, maybe they'll come if they're rattlesnakes.
So it was that the Darling Tennis Center was built two years ago in the northwest corner of Las Vegas. It wasn't initially intended to be a venue for an ATP event. The Darling Tennis Center was all about community, a perfect spot for quintessential grass-roots events such as USTA recreational league playoffs, junior sectional tournaments, college matches and so on. But when The Tennis Channel came along with an offer to partner and hold a pro tournament, the thinking here was, well, why not, let's roll the dice and give it a go.
After all, the history of tennis in Las Vegas is one of entrepreneurial risk, aided by weather that's generally quite hospitable to this sport. Such was the lure of Las Vegas that attracted an immigrant named Mike Agassi to eventually start a family here. Agassi worked for years in this town as a bellman, his feet moving feverishly by day so that he could bring the gift of tennis to his four children by night. As the case of the Agassi family reveals - besides Andre, all of them became excellent tennis players - this is a sport where you build yourself from the ground up. Ditch the marquee and head down into the earth.
That sense of work ethic, community and engagement is already here at the Darling Tennis Center. The Tennispalooza concept that The Tennis Channel brought here is slowly and surely taking form. Besides world-class ATP men's and ITF women's events, there are all sorts of competitive events on the grounds, from table tennis to paddle tennis to air hockey, fast-serving and racket stringing contests. For the fan who likes to come to a tournament and graze, it's a fun smorgasbord, a chance to sample, watch andsee current stars like defending champion James Blake, Lleyton Hewitt, Marat Safin and the Bryan brothers, men in their twilight such as Gustavo Kuerten and Tim Henman, and even take a chance look at a player who might well make headlines in the years to come. Yes, the weather the first two days was certainly far from ideal, tempting one to think this event should be held indoors in one of this city's many arenas. But that would be a concession to the acrid over the sensual, a sacrifice of authenticity for artifice (unless there's someone out there who can create a Tennispalooza-like biosphere complete with sunshine, 20 court s and multiple competitive attractions fans can easily watch).
Tuesday afternoon there was a quintessential Las Vegas community tennis moment. A 15-year-old, Asia Muhammad, was playing the Mirage Cup at the Tennis Channel Open, the tournament's ITF women's event. She was on Court Ten, a court with modest bleachers that holds less than 150 people. It was quite windy, but Muhammad persevered. Muhammad is a local girl, having honed her game at the Andre Agassi Boys and Girls Club. But she's also now one of the best juniors in the U.S., rumored to be turning pro this spring, with backing from Agassi, including business and career directions from his longstanding manager, Perry Rogers. A number of Las Vegas tennis folk gathered around the court, from a local architect who designed Agassi's academy to a pediatrician to former touring pro Brett Dickinson. Wandering nearby, simultaneously checking out the match and discoursing as only he can, stood Mike Agassi, explaining the nuances of effective service returns. Also buried in the crowd, wearing a brown coat and a skullcap, was a man who's arguably the Las Vegas tennis' community's Chairman of the Board - Andre Agassi. Andre of course had for so long been a tennis headliner all over the world. But here he was, happy merely to be at home watching a local grub her way through just as he had so many years ago. Agassi and Muhammad stand at opposite ends of their tennis journey, but both Las Vegas residents know that you build your tennis career not from the top down, but from the ground up. The same holds true for this tournament.
Veteran tennis writer Joel Drucker is covering Tennis Channel Open. Author of the book Jimmy Connors Saved My Life, Drucker's work appears regularly in a variety of print and broadcast media, including Tennis Magazine and ESPN.