By Charles Bricker
Mike Agassi had gone to his son after his epic five-set 2006 US Open win over Marcos Baghdatis that left him a bent-over cripple and pleaded to him to retire from the game right there. When he was unable to convince his son to call it a career and withdraw from his final tournament, he worked on Andre’s coach, Darren “Killer” Cahill. That, of course, wouldn’t work, either.
“There was no way Andre was going to go out like that,” Cahill recalled Monday. “He was never going to give up and he wasn’t going to retire on court. But we also were resigned that it was inevitable.”
“It” was the four-set loss to Benjamin Becker, in the next (third) round, in a match that surely left puddles of tears in every row of the Arthur Ashe Stadium, where Agassi stroked for the final time as an ATP professional.
Was it excruciating for Cahill to sit in the players box and watch the final demise. Never, said Cahill. “It was one of the most satisfying experiences I’ve ever had. You’re sitting in the coach’s box and somehow you remove yourself and you’re more of a spectator.”
Two days earlier, on Sept. 1, as Agassi dragged his beaten body on court to defeat Baghdatis, Cahill knew this was the final tournament and probably the final win. “To watch what happened in that match, with 22,000 people at 1:30 in the morning. . .” He didn’t finish the sentence and didn’t have to. Everyone knew how much it had taken out of Andre. It was so bad Mike Agassi wanted him to retire right there.
When the drama was over, Agassi went home to Las Vegas to get well and Cahill also went back to Vegas, where he had transplanted from his native Australia, to work out his next gig. It would be with ESPN.
And in four years, he has risen, quite amazingly, to elite status among tennis analysts. No one working anywhere in tennis broadcasting has the combination of knowledge, experience both as a player and coach and — this is the key — literacy of Darren Cahill.
No screaming. No bad jokes. No godawful anecdotes about some player’s dog. No over-the-top promotion of U.S. players and, best of all, none of that amateurish psycho-babble about what the player on court is “really thinking.”
What you get from Cahill is expert, thoughtful and almost invariably brilliant analysis — all wrapped up in a disarming Aussie accent that manages to communicate without such tedious cliches as “bread and butter shot,” “crunch time,” and “pulled a rabbit out of the hat.”
Cahill, who turns 45 on Oct. 2, is taking this week off after calling the Rogers Cup in Toronto last week, but he’s already gearing up for the U.S. Open, where in 1988 he upset Boris Becker on the way to a semifinal loss to Mats Wilander. He’ll be ultra-stoked for this Slam.
A series of knee surgeries cut his playing career sadly short, but this is a man of multiple talents, who soon found that he had a lot of tennis knowledge to impart to a succession of players, including Lleyton Hewitt, Agassi and, for a time, Roger Federer.
When he began at ESPN at the 2007 Aussie Open, I thought, “He’s out of the booth the first big-time coaching job that comes along.” That hasn’t happened yet, but it’s not surprising that the itch hasn’t been adequately scratched.
“Sure, the TV is great and I thoroughly enjoy it. I’ve worked with a bunch of people from whom I’ve learned a great deal.” And if the right coaching job came along? “There’s a great feeling to being on the side of the court,” he said. “You can’t replace the excitement. The pull will always be there.”
In fact, at Toronto, he found himself vicariously focusing on Paul Annacone, who had recently signed a see-how-it-goes contract to coach Federer, perhaps trying to guess what Annacone was telling the former No. 1.
In a sense, Cahill isn’t divorced from coaching. He’s part of an Adidas team that works in Vegas with Fernando Verdasco, Daniela Hantuchova, Thiemo de Bakker and, last week, Fernando Gonzalez. Yet as close as he is to players, he hasn’t traded in his right to be critical in the booth — a balancing act too many jocks-turned-TV guys have a hard time handling.
“I wouldn’t say anything with the headphones on that I wouldn’t say to their faces. You have to be constructive, but it’s no good coming in there and throwing the gauntlet down,” he explained.
He liked what he saw last week from Rogers Cup winner Andy Murray. “I’ve been an Andy fan for a long time,” said Cahill. “He’s evolved as a person and the way he handled his emotions and not having a coach there is part of that growing-up process. He’s learning to deal with situations. I thought it was interesting that he said he wants his next coach to teach me to be more aggressive.”
I told Cahill that remark confounded me a bit. Haven’t all his coaches tried to tell him that? “We can all be a little stubborn,” said Cahill. “When you have a style that had a 6-2 edge on Federer, you wonder why everyone is telling you to change.”
Cahill on Novak Djokovic: “He’s the one at the top who can improve the most. He’s had good results, but he’s not played like a top-10 all year. The next two or three years are key for him, but I don’t know what medical issues he’s struggling with. When he is, his game sinks.”
On Federer: “I think he’s got a lot to look forward to. He can play various styles. But, as Andre said, the older you get the more you have to be looking after the body.”
His U.S. Open favorites: “I don’t see anyone winning outside of the top three — and by top three I mean Nadal, Murray and Federer. I put Djokovic in the next group.”
Charles Bricker can be reached at nflwriterr@aol.com