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TUMO6566@aol.com London, UK

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HISTORY DOESN'T ALWAYS FAVOUR FAIRY TALE ENDINGS

y heart really goes out to Andre Agassi for being unfortunate to have found himself on the opposite side of the court where Rafael Nadal was playing at SW19. The American would naturally want a fairy tale ending to his illustrious career. I also feel for the Germans and their manager, Jurgen Klinsmann.they wanted a fairy tale ending, but history, like fate, can be very cruel,you know.

And by the way, we all love fairy tale endings, don't we? Both mortal beings and those who have immortalised themselves one way or the other surely do. One of those who won Olympics gold medal in Athens 2004 used to sell programme leaflets when Jonathan Edwards was writing his name in the history books in Gothenburg in 1985. Even though the guy in question hasn't confined his spike shoes to the museum, but standing on the highest part of the podium at the spiritual home of the Olympics was a fairy tale kind of, for this amiable gentleman of Scandinavian origin.

Only a few weeks ago, Bernard Hopkins lowered his glittering career in the squared ropes by giving Antonio Tarver a masterclass in boxing and snatching the latter's light heavyweight title - a feat never achieved in middleweight boxing history. It was a fairy tale ending for Hopkins, a guy who in his early years, shared a prison cell with fellow young criminals in God's own country.

But history doesn't always favour those in search of fairy tale endings, though. For some, it ends in tears, like it recently did for the German manager, Jurgen Klinsmann.

Colin Jackson, the 110m hurdles joint world record holder wanted his last race in Birmingham to be a fairy tale ending a few years back, but the Welshman was denied on home soil by those who could get off the blocks quicker and clear the barriers faster. The "greatest" wanted it, but Larry Holmes humbled his idol, reducing the legendary Ali to a punching back on that memorable night. There were tears in many eyes-mine inclusive.

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It's no secret that Andre Agassi would have wanted to go out on high as he spends his last year on the Circuit, but can the legend have it his way? Will there be an icing of the cake to a man who has achieved everything in his tennis career? Don't bet on it and to be honest about it, I'll rather you give the money to charity. In Rafael Nadal, his third round opponent at this year's Wimbledon, Agassi had before him a fighter, brawler and an adversary who doesn't know how to take backward steps. Going down two sets to Robert Kenderick in his second round match, you could have explained it away then, saying, we're not on clay. But that son of a cleaning director clawed his way back to set up a mouth watering encounter with the Las Vegan son of Iranian immigrant.

One thing is sure though, Agassi didn't come to London on holiday, and neither did Rafael Nadal. The question on the lips of countless tennis fans was:"Will there be a fairy tale ending for Agassi?" I never thought so, and not surprisingly, Agassi left the court with wet eyes.

Fairy tale endings, it doesn't always happen. Jurgen Klinsmann would have traded his last penny to have it on home soil, but the Italians struck with two minutes to penalty kicks. The Californian-based German had been denied the eternal chance of being one of the very few to have won the World Cup as player and manager. Not surprisingly, there were tears in the eyes of the 41-year old former Spurs manager.

If you can, don't seek for a fairy tale ending-except your name is Bernard Hopkins or Goran Ivanisevic.

Grand Slam Winners, Vol. 1 is available at, _www.PublishAmerica.com_ (http://www.PublishAmerica.com)