``Well, I was sitting there realizing that I was saying goodbye to everybody out there, and they were saying goodbye to me. It's saying goodbye. It's a necessary evil. But we were getting through it together. That felt amazing.'' _ Andre Agassi of the United States.

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``It's a tough situation. You know it was his last match. Such a great guy. Inspired me when I grew up. Obviously, you kind of feel bad. You saw him after the match crying. You get emotional, too. You have tears in your eyes. I don't know. I'll probably be happy in a few days, I guess.'' _ American Benjamin Becker, who beat Agassi.

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``When I was first coming up, it was Pete (Sampras) and Andre. Then it was Andre. Now it's time for us to step up. That cushion isn't there. My training wheels are gone. I'm sure it's gonna be a little different. But it's an exciting prospect, as well.'' _ Andy Roddick of the United States.

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``I used to watch Andre Agassi. I just remember his jeans shorts. I remember the Rebel commercials he had with the camera. He was just everything that I aspire to be, not only on the court but off the court.'' _ Serena Williams of the United States.

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``I'm not gonna lie, but I think 50 per cent, 60 per cent of people in (the players' locker room) were probably in tears as well and were holding it back. I know I was. ... I'm sure all tennis players would love to have the respect that he has from all the players and the fans. Everybody loves him anywhere he went. He's huge.'' _ Andy Murray of Great Britain.

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``He's an icon for world tennis. He meant so much because of his game, image and personality.'' _ Rafael Nadal of Spain.

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``It was a remarkable win what he did against (Marcos) Baghdatis, one of the better players going around the world at the moment. ... It's probably a little bit of a shame that he didn't end up maybe losing a close match to Baghdatis in that atmosphere that was there that evening.'' _ Lleyton Hewitt of Australia.

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``It's inspiring, just everything he's going through to be out here for everybody.'' _ Lindsay Davenport of the United States.

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``He will be remembered more than any other player.'' _ Fernando Gonzalez of Chile.