LOS ANGELES — Andre Agassi bid his "tennis goodbye" to Los Angeles, and Andy Roddick withdrew from the tournament because of a lower back strain.
Agassi, who polished his game in Los Angeles as a youth before winning four titles here as one of the sport's all-time greats, lost to Fernando Gonzalez in the Countrywide Classic quarterfinals Friday afternoon.
Gonzalez took a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 victory.
Afterward, the 36-year-old Agassi told the fans, who chanted "An-dre! And-re!" during the match, "It's not just the game that I'm leaving, but it's the people who have been so good to me over the years.
"I can't thank them enough for that."
Shortly after Agassi's ouster, Roddick also was out of the tournament. The top-seeded Roddick hurt his back during Thursday night's victory over Scott Oudesema.
Roddick was scheduled to play Dmitry Tursunov in Friday's night's quarterfinals, so the Russian advances to the semis.
Agassi, a Las Vegas native who made frequent trips to Los Angeles to play junior matches, announced last month that he will retire after the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 28.
"A few more weeks and counting," he said.
He was the defending champion in the Los Angeles tournament and also won the title in 1998, 2001 and 2002.
Agassi isn't dwelling on his impending retirement.
"It's still tennis for me right now, believe it or not. Today it was dealing with Fernando's forehand," he said with a smile. "There are still a lot of distractions on the other side of the net."
Gonzalez, who at No. 17 is ranked one notch ahead of Agassi, was gracious in victory.
"I grew up watching Andre play. He set an example, seeing how much he enjoyed playing," said the Chilean, who turns 26 on Saturday.
"It was a special match for me. It was just special to play against him."
Agassi didn't go quietly, fighting off three match points in the 10th game of the third set to stay alive — and keep the crowd roaring. But Gonzalez broke him in the 12th game, ending a long rally and the match with a powerful backhand beyond Agassi's reach.
Gonzalez said Agassi hasn't changed much.
"At 36, he's still motivated, still competing like he was 15 years ago," Gonzalez said.