I didn’t grow up watching soccer, basketball, football, or baseball. I followed tennis. And over the years, I have developed interests in many other sports – to the point of temporarily abandoning my original love – but I have always come back to it. Two tennis players influenced me heavily as a youngster – the first was Pete Sampras and the other was Andre Agassi.

This past Sunday, at the US Open, Andre Agassi played his last competitive singles match. Watching him play his matches this year, I realized that perhaps he was the one who exerted more influence over me when I was younger.

Some people say that celebrities – rock stars, athletes, or movie actors – "saved their lives". I don’t think Agassi "saved" my life... but he definitely influenced it. It is quite normal to think of an athlete as a role model, much as they loathe having that label thrust upon them. Agassi was my role model when I was younger.

And why not? He was a brash, long-haired, rebellious talent. His wardrobe was an explosion of color. He had anger, drive, and the kind of rare skill that is forged by just those traits. In a clean-shaven, white t-shirt, quiet and dignified world of tennis, Agassi was the black sheep of the family. He was the John McEnroe of our generation. What teenager couldn’t like him? He was all my emotions rolled up into a fantastic tennis player.

And fantastic, he was. There was no question about that. When all is said and done, his eight grand slam titles and Olympic gold medal put him among the best. But his talent wasn’t what made him special to me. It wasn’t his rebellious image either. Sure, those things appealed to me when I was younger. But there were (and are) plenty of other angry young men in sports with an abundance of talent... what made Agassi important to me was that he matured beyond that point.

It took me a long time to admit that to myself. Oh, I was angry that he cut his hair. I was angry that he "gave in" to Wimbledon and appeared there in all white. But I was angry at everything those days. That’s being a teenager. You get angry at everything. Everything is about being screwed by "the man". But part of growing up is learning to temper your anger. Not everyone does it – but most people do. You learn to control your rage – it is still important to have it, because some things in life demand it – but you aren’t controlled by it.

Agassi made that leap. He grew up. He concentrated on his game instead of fighting the rules just because they were there. And while I may not have understood it then, I watched it. Watched it with some latent anger, to be sure, but I also remembered. As time went on, tennis became less important to me for a few years. When I came back to it, as I always do, I found that Agassi was still there, a more mature, thoughtful, thankful man. And I found that I could appreciate all those qualities about him.

I, too, had grown up.

It isn’t easy, looking at yourself in the mirror one day and acknowledging that you’re not the same person you were a year ago. I thought of it as a loss of time. Like I had wasted all those years of my life. But it was an evolution, and those were things everyone goes through – and if my hero did, then surely it was right for me to do the same.

As I watched Agassi play this year, I kept thinking to myself how thankful I was that I learned these things from him. Believe me, it’s far more effective than being told that by an Authority Figure. Hearing Agassi talk openly about being pushed into the sport, his disagreements with his father, and other personal matters, it’s easy to see where his early anger came from.

Watching Agassi struggle on the court with inflamed back muscles, not nearly as dominant as he was in his prime, was really tough for me to watch. He was the last of the amazing crop of US players from the 80s and 90s. He was a champion. He was all those things – but he is my role model.

Thank you, Andre.