Twenty years of professional tennis seem to have taken its toll on the ever-popular Andre Agassi with his love affair with the game apparently nearing its end.

The Las Vegan has barely been seen on court since reaching the final of the US Open in 2005, although his latest comeback from injury has seen him thrown right back into the limelight.

The 35-year-old, a winner of eight grand slam titles, is returning after being sidelined by a series of injuries - he tore ankle ligaments in a freak racketball accident in October and has also been affected recently by a back complaint.

The Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells this week was only his third of 2006, although that ended prematurely - he was handsomely beaten 7-5, 6-2 by Tommy Haas in the third round.

The loss hit Agassi hard and thoughts of retirement certainly seemed to be floating around his head.

"I'm pretty patchy right now," he bemoaned. "It's harder than it looks to put together a good match.

"It's never easy losing, so to have a good tournament with a few good wins would remind me right now of why I'm doing this.

"I've been through it before but each time it gets tougher. It's frustrating. It's been a long time since I've felt good on the court and it's just getting tiring.

"As of right now, I'm starting to feel not thrilled about it."

That may seem the sentiments of a quitter but there are signs he does still care.

During his first-round match with Paul Goldstein, he was not happy with the standard of tennis he was producing, a far cry from the performances he displayed in his pomp at the turn of the century. On one occasion, he even smashed his racket out of frustration.

But it is very doubtful he will give up his playing career without a fight.

He has shown similar tenacity off the court in hinting that he would be willing to buy Bjorn Borg's five Wimbledon trophies to stop them falling into the wrong hands at an auction.

"The thought of a Wimbledon trophy being in the hands of somebody with a lot of money is upsetting," he said. "Wimbledon is the greatest tournament in the world.

"There are a lot of people who could step up to help, Wimbledon being one, and myself another."

At least his desire to make a difference in tennis away from the court remains.