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Andre Agassi was the bad boy of tennis. He was characterized by his exceptionally long mullet and a big attitude. I’m not sure when exactly this image fell by the wayside, but when the 36-year-old bald Agassi left Los Angeles for the last time as a professional, he left as a shining example of class and an individual grateful for what the sport of tennis has given him.

In this day and age of celebrity athletes with big paychecks and even bigger egos, being in a press conference with Agassi is a surreal experience. He is not soft-spoken, but talks with a calmness and a presence that make him powerfully eloquent and makes the people around him feel as though he is really listening to their questions and answering them thoughtfully. Coming from someone who has been giving interviews for decades, it is unbelievable. He comes off much more as a Buddhist monk than as a bad boy.

Sitting a few feet away from Agassi, I couldn’t help feeling like this tennis legend who had won 60 ATP titles in his long and illustrious career was more down-to-earth than I am.

Like he does on the court, Agassi carries himself with an understated grace and an understanding that he is a true ambassador of tennis.

This summer represents the ambassador’s last tour around the nation as he has announced his retirement after August’s U.S. Open. Every stop along the way is his last visit, and Los Angeles was no different.

During his final match in Southern California – a loss to Fernando Gonzalez in the quarterfinals – the stadium erupted with applause whenever he landed a winner, and groaned whenever one of his shots ended up in the net.

Despite the loss, Agassi put on a great show before the final curtain came down on his Los Angeles career. Agassi fell behind early, losing the first set while struggling to deal with the ridiculous power of Fernando Gonzalez’s crosscourt forehand. The situation seemed eerily familiar to his last match when he dropped the first set to Swiss born George Bastl before coming back to win the match.

Sadly for tennis fans, he could not repeat the comeback.

But before Agassi’s exit, the crowd got a touch of his legendary competitive spirit when he came back from triple match-point late in the third set to tie up the game.

When he did his standard bowing and blowing kisses to the four sides of the stadium after the match, I couldn’t help but soak in the opportunity to see the master of his craft for the final time.

As it will be for every one of his matches at each venue he plays in this summer, Agassi was more than a fan favorite at UCLA; he was almost royalty. This summer he has home-court advantage regardless of what city he is in.

The tennis legend will go down in history as one of the greatest to play the game and one of the classiest individuals to carry the torch for the sport. The greatest heroes in any sport have their legendary counterpart, and Agassi is no different. He will be most remembered for his epic battles against his contemporary Pete Sampras, who has a very different personality but similar artistry on the court.

While Agassi was the loud bad boy, Sampras was always quiet and reserved. As Agassi left Los Angeles, and as he will soon leave tennis all together, that difference is being blurred. Agassi is by no means reserved, but he is no irresponsible bad boy either. He walks away with a far better hairstyle, and he leaves the game far better off than when he found it.

E-mail Gordon at bgordon@media.ucla.edu if you got choked up when Agassi announced his retirement.

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