Farmers Classic exhibition sees a glimpse into past greatness with Andre Agassi and John McEnroe, plus his famous temper

Correction:The original version of this article published on July 26 contained an error. Steffi Graf is actually German.

The Farmers Classic, held at UCLA this week, started off with quite a bang over the weekend as fans in attendance were presented with some vintage American tennis displays Saturday evening.

Andre Agassi defeated John McEnroe 6-4, 6-2, in an exhibition match Saturday night at the Los Angeles Tennis Center, but the score certainly wasn’t the story of the night.

Before the match, McEnroe stated that he enjoys playing doubles with younger teammates throughout the season, and he and Agassi joked that in tonight’s match, they would simply be looking to “not get hurt.”

“(Los Angeles) is a second home for me and there is a great history of tennis here, so anytime I can step out here and be a part of this, it’s awesome,” McEnroe said. “I just hope it goes well, we play well and have some fun.”

But that sense of tranquility quickly went out the door.

After a quiet first set in which both players entertained the crowd with some meaningless banter, things took an awkward turn at the beginning of the second set.

Having won the first set after converting a late break point, Agassi broke McEnroe twice to open the second set, giving himself a 4-0 lead. It was at that point that the latter began to lose his cool.

McEnroe slammed his racket more than once and threatened to slam it on several different occasions.

Things really got testy toward the middle of the second set, when McEnroe released his anger on a particular fan who apparently had been ribbing the 51-year-old former world No. 1.

McEnroe did not bite his tongue while verbally confronting the man, using a tirade chockfull of obscenities. Fans were a bit shocked, especially with a large number of children in attendance, but McEnroe has never been one to taper his temper. And despite numerous attempts on Agassi’s part to lighten the mood, McEnroe was having none of it.

On a more positive note, the two American tennis greats did address the current state of American tennis, exuding a higher sense of hope than those in the media. McEnroe and Agassi both spoke about up-and-coming players on the circuit, namely John Isner and Sam Querrey, the world No. 19 and No. 20 players, respectively.

Isner is 25, an old age by tennis standards, and has become famous for his recent three-day marathon match with Nicolas Mahut in the first round at this year’s Wimbledon, while Querrey, the defending champion at the Los Angeles Tennis Open, will be 23 in October. It is widely believed that the future of American tennis rests on the duo’s shoulders.

“Isner was a late bloomer,” McEnroe said. “He was kind of awkward with his body, and now he’s coming into his own at 25. Querrey has made systemic progress. Slowly but surely he’s working his way up. But certainly we’ve been spoiled over the years with the likes of the great players we’ve had recently, with Pete (Sampras)and Andre at the top.”

As far as Isner’s marathon match goes, both McEnroe and Agassi described the awe with which they witnessed the event.

“It was like a multi-million dollar free commercial for tennis. It was unbelievable,” McEnroe said.

Agassi, who was in London during Wimbledon, offered his interpretation of the marathon with an amusing story concerning some restructured plans with his wife, German tennis great Steffi Graf.

“If it ever happens again, I hope I don’t see it. … It was about 24 all in the fifth. I get back to the (hotel) room and we had dinner plans. I made this famous comment to Steffi: I said, ‘I’m ready to go, let me just see the end of this first.’”