Friday was an emotional day for Agassi and his fans as Chile’s pride, third seed Fernando Gonzalez defeat him 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in the Countrywide Classic quarterfinals held at UCLA. Fifth seed Agassi is the defending champion and a four-time winner in the LA tournament, dominating the LA hardcourts back in 1998, 2001 and 2002. This is going to be the last LA tournament for Agassi as he plans to retire after the 2006 US Open, which will begin next month.

Andre Agassi, who at 36 now has 60 career titles, said to the roaring crowd of supporters in an emotional exit in Los Angeles “I'm not just leaving a game that I've played for 20 years, I'm leaving people who have been so good to me over the years.”

Gonzales who turns 26 the day after his victory, on the other hand, said he is honored to play with one of the world’s best tennis players. He said “I grew up watching Andre play. He set an example, seeing how much he enjoyed playing.”