Andre Agassi today bade an emotional farewell to Wimbledon after losing in the third round to Rafael Nadal.
Agassi, who won his first grand slam title at the All England Club in 1992, was beaten 7-6 6-2 6-4 by a player who was just a year old when Agassi made his Wimbledon debut in 1987.
The 36-year-old will now hope to go out on a high when he plays his last event before retiring at the US Open later this year.
Agassi told a packed Centre Court crowd: 'It's been a lot of incredible years here, I'll never be able to repay you for how you've embraced me over the years. I thank you for that.
'This is it for us, if you dream about being a professional tennis player you dream about being right here.
'I've had the privilege of being here many times and this is one I won't forget.
'Coming back this year I didn't know what to expect from myself but one thing I felt I could count on was how you've always been to me over the years and I thank you for that.'
Nadal had allowed Agassi to walk onto Centre Court ahead of him to receive a standing ovation from the crowd.
But that was where the courtesy ended as Nadal quickly put Agassi under immense pressure, the American saving a total of six break points - the last three of them set points - to stay on level terms.
Agassi then looked set to rub salt in the wound in the tie-break as he moved 5-2 ahead, but Nadal won the next five points in a row, one of them with a forehand winner so audacious even Agassi was moved to applaud.
The French Open champion closed it out 7-5 with an ace to take the upper hand on a sweltering afternoon at the All England Club.
The first set had taken just over an hour on one of the hottest days of the year, and fatigue was sure to be a major factor if the match went the distance.
That would obviously favour Nadal, but the 20-year-old looked certain to make it a moot point when he took the second set in just 32 minutes.
The Spanish star took advantage of a lucky net cord to break Agassi in the opening game, and broke again in the seventh before serving out to take it 6-2 and a two-set lead.
Agassi screamed in frustration when a rare low bounce caused him to send a forehand long and gift Nadal a break point in the fifth game, but the 1992 champion dug deep to hold serve and edge ahead 3-2.
That proved to be only a temporary reprieve however as Nadal broke in the seventh game to lead 4-3 and stand on the verge of a famous victory and a place in the fourth round.
Despite being one of the best returners the game has ever seen, Agassi had been unable to create a single break point on Nadal's serve and the second seed duly served out to complete victory.
