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Andre Kirk Agassi an Assyrian (born April 29, 1970, in Las Vegas,
Nevada) is a former World No. 1 men's professional tennis player from the
United States. He has won eight Grand Slam singles titles, and is one of
only five players to have won all four Grand Slam events. He is considered
by many fans to be among the all-time great tennis players.
Tennis career
1986-1997
Agassi turned professional in 1986 at the age of 16, and
won his first top-level singles title in 1987 at Itaparica. He won six further
tournaments in 1988, and by December that year he had surpassed US$2 million
in career prize money after playing in just 43 tournaments – the quickest
player in history to do so.
As a young up-and-coming player, Agassi embraced a rebel
image. He grew his hair to rock-star length, sported an earring, and wore
colorful shirts that pushed tennis' still-strict sartorial boundaries. He
boasted of a cheeseburger-heavy diet and endorsed the Canon Rebel camera.
"Image is everything" was the ads's tag line, and it became Agassi's
as well.
Strong performances on the tour meant that Agassi was quickly
tipped as a future Grand Slam champion. But he began the 1990s with a series
of near-misses. He reached his first Grand Slam final in 1990 at the French
Open, where he lost in four sets to the seasoned veteran player Andrés
Gómez. Later that year he lost in the final of the US Open to another
up-and-coming teenaged star, Pete Sampras. The rivalry between the two American
players was to become the dominant rivalry in tennis over the rest the of
the decade. In 1991, Agassi reached his second consecutive French Open final
where he faced his former Bollettieri Academy-mate Jim Courier. Courier emerged
the victor in a dramatic rain-interrupted five-set final.
Agassi chose not to play at Wimbledon from 1988-90, and publicly
stated that he did not wish to play there because of the event's traditionalism,
particularly its "predominantly-white" dress code which players
at the event are required to conform to. Many observers at the time speculated
that Agassi's real motivation was that his strong baseline game would not
be suited to Wimbledon's grass court surface. He decided to play there in
1991, leading to weeks of speculation in the media about what he would wear
– he eventually emerged for the first round in a completely white outfit.
He reached the quarter-finals on that occasion. To the surprise of many,
Agassi's Grand Slam breakthrough came at Wimbledon in 1992 when he beat Goran
Ivaniševic in a tight five-set final.
Following wrist surgery in 1993, Agassi came back strongly
in 1994 and captured the US Open, beating Michael Stich in the final. He
then captured his first Australian Open title in 1995, beating Sampras in
a four-set final. He won a career-high seven titles that year and he reached
the World No. 1 ranking for the first time that April. He held it for 30
weeks on that occasion through to November. He compiled a career-best 26-match
winning streak during the summer hardcourt circuit, which ended when he lost
in the US Open final to Sampras. In 1996, Agassi won the men's singles Gold
Medal at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, beating Sergi Bruguera of Spain in
straight sets in the final.
1997 was a poor year for Agassi. He won no top-level titles
and his ranking sank to World No. 141 in November. His form was perhaps affected
by the intense publicity surrounding his high-profile and turbulent relationship
and marriage to actress Brooke Shields.
1998-present
In 1998, Agassi rededicated himself to tennis. He shaved
his balding head, began a rigorous conditioning program, and worked his way
back up the rankings by playing in Challenger Series tournaments (a circuit
for professional players ranked outside the world's top 50). Perhaps most
remarkably, the one-time rebel emerged as a gracious and thoughtful athlete,
and looked up to by younger players. After winning matches, he took to bowing
and blowing a two-handed kisses to spectators on each side of the court,
a gesture seen as a rather humble acknowledgment of their support for him
and for tennis.
In 1998, Agassi won five titles and lept from No. 122 on
the rankings at the start of the year, to No. 6 at the end of it, making
it the highest jump into the Top 10 made by any player in tennis. He won
five titles in ten finals, and finished runner-up at the Miami Masters.
Agassi entered the history books in 1999 when he beat Andrei
Medvedev in a five-set French Open final to become only the fifth male player
to have won all four Grand Slam singles titles (a feat last achieved in the
1960s by Roy Emerson). Agassi is the only player in history to win all 4
grand slams since the US and Australian open were altered to hard courts.
He followed that up by reaching the Wimbledon final, where he lost to Sampras.
He then won the US Open, beating Todd Martin in five sets in the final, and
finished the year ranked the World No. 1.
Agassi began 2000 by capturing his second Australian Open
title, beating Yevgeny Kafelnikov in a four-set final. He was the first male
player to have reached four consecutive Grand Slam finals since Rod Laver
achieved the Grand Slam in 1969. 2000 also saw Agassi reach the semi-finals
at Wimbledon, where he lost in five sets to Patrick Rafter in a very high
quality battle considered by many to be one of the best matches ever played
at Wimbledon [1]. Agassi entered the year-end Tennis Masters Cup locked in
a tight fight for the World No. 1 spot with Gustavo Kuerten and Marat Safin.
Safin needed only three match wins in the tournament to become the year end
number one. However, Safin lost to Agassi in the semi-finals; Safin only
won two matches. He was out of the running. Agassi then met Kuerten in the
final, which would determine not only who would win the title but also who
would finish the year as the No. 1 player. In the end it was Kuerten who
emereged victorious with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 score. (Agassi won the tour's year-end
championship once in 1990, and was runner-up in 1999, 2000 and 2003.)
Agassi opened 2001 by sucessfully defending his Australian
Open title with a straight-sets final win over Arnaud Clement. At Wimbledon,
he battled Rafter again in the semi-finals and lost 8-6 in the fifth set.
At the US Open he lost in the quarter-finals to Sampras in what is conisdered
to be one of tournament's all-time greatest matches. Sampras won 6-7, 7-6,
7-6, 7-6 in a match with no breaks of serve.
Agassi and Sampras' last duel came in the final of the US
Open in 2002. The battle between the two veterans saw Sampras emerge victorious
in four sets, and left Sampras with a 20-14 edge in their 34 career meetings.
(The match in fact proved to be the last of Sampras' career. He did not play
in an event on the professional tour again, and officially announced his
retirement in 2003.) Agassi's US Open finish, along with his victories at
the Miami Masters, Rome Masters, and Madrid Masters, helped him become the
oldest year-end No. 2 at 32 years and 8 months.
In 2003, Agassi won the eighth Grand Slam title of his career
at the Australian Open, where he beat Rainer Schüttler in straight sets
in the final. On May 11, Agassi won the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
in Houston, making him the oldest No. 1 ranked male tennis player in history
at 33 years and 13 days. He would hold the position for 13 weeks. At the
Tennis Masters Cup in Houston, Agassi made it to the final, losing to Roger
Federer, making him the oldest player to ever finish the year in the Top
5 (fourth) since Jimmy Connors finished fourth in 1987 when he was 35.
In 2004, the 34-year-old Agassi won the Tennis Masters Series
event at Cincinnati to bring his career total to 59 top-level singles titles.
In his run there, he beat players including Carlos Moya, Andy Roddick, and
Lleyton Hewitt in the final, proving that he could still beat the world's
top players. With strong finishes at the Australian Open (SF), Indian Wells
Masters (SF), Cincinnati Masters (WON), US Open (QF), Madrid Masters (SF)
and Stockholm Open (F), Agassi finished the year ranked eighth, making him
the oldest player to finish the year in the Top 10 (at age 34) since Jimmy
Connors finished seventh in 1988 when he was 36.
Agassi has also won one doubles title (at Cincinnati in 1993,
partnering Petr Korda). He is one of only five male players to have won all
the Grand Slams – along with legends Don Budge, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver
and Fred Perry. He is in fact the first male tennis player to win the four
Grand Slams on four different surfaces. The previous players won the Australian
Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open on grass courts and the French Open on clay
courts; whereas Agassi won the Australian Open on Rebound Ace, the French
Open on clay, Wimbledon on grass, and the US Open on hardcourts. By winning
the Olympic Gold Medal at the 1996 Olympics, Agassi became the first male
tennis player to win the Career Golden Slam. Agassi also helped the United
States win the Davis Cup in 1990 and 1992. He was named the BBC Overseas
Sports Personality of the Year in 1992. Agassi has earned more than US$30
million in prize-money throughout his career, second only to Sampras. In
addition to this, he also earns over US$25 million a year through endorsements,
the most by any tennis player and fourth in all sports (first place is Tiger
Woods at US$70 million a year). In 2005, Agassi left Nike after 17 years
and signed an endorsement deal with Adidas. [2]
Agassi started off 2005 with strong runs, most of which were
cut short by Roger Federer. He lost to Federer in the quarterfinals of the
Australian Open and the semifinals at Dubai. He reached the quarterfinals
at Indian Wells after a dominant victory over Guillermo Coria, but withdrew
from his match with Lleyton Hewitt with a swollen big toe. Agassi lost in
the semifinals at Miami to Federer in a tight match. Although the claycourt
season is the toughest on the body, Agassi played in Rome and reached the
semifinals which he lost to Coria in a tough battle. At the 2005 French Open,
Agassi lost to Jarkko Nieminem, withdrawing in the fifth set of their first-round
match after enduring back pain related to a pinched sciatic nerve. After
much media speculation about retirement, the 35-year-old Agassi won in Los
Angeles and made the final at Montreal before falling to world No. 2 Rafael
Nadal in three long sets that he might have won if a few points had gone
differently. His coach Darren Cahill and close friend and personal trainer
Gil Reyes worked with Agassi throughout the summer to prepare for the 2005
US Open. Agassi made a spectacular run at the Open, beating Razvan Sabau
6-3, 6-3, 6-1, Ivo Karlovic in the second round 7-6(7-4), 7-6(7-5), 7-6(7-4);
Tomas Berdych 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(7-2); and Xavier Malisse 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(5-7),
4-6, 6-2. His quarterfinal match against fellow American James Blake has
been called one of the best matches in US Open history. After dropping the
first two sets, 3-6, 3-6, Agassi took the next two, 6-3, 6-3. In the fifth
set, Blake served for the match at 5-4, but Agassi broke his serve, then
won the tiebreak 8-6 to secure the victory at 1:15 a.m. He defeated Robby
Ginepri, another rising, talented American with a consistent baseline game,
in his third consecutive five-set match to earn a spot in the final against
World No. 1 Roger Federer. After losing the first set 6-3, Agassi broke Federer
twice to win the second, 6-2. He broke Federer again and at this point looked
to be the better player. Agassi had a 30-love lead but with a few costly
errors was broken to force a tiebreak, which Federer took, 7-1. Andre ran
out of gas and Federer reeled off five straight games to win the championship.
After the match, Agassi thanked New York for the 20 years of memories, hinting
at potential retirement. However, Agassi has made clear that he will only
retire on his terms, when he feels that he cannot perform at his best on
the court.
Playing style
Agassi employs a baseline style of play, but unlike most
baseliners who hit the ball behind the baseline, he typically makes contact
with the ball inside the baseline. This is exceptionally difficult even for
professionals, but Agassi's ability to hit a clean ball and his short backswing
on his groundstrokes allow him to be able to do this. He also uses his short
backswing to good advantage when returning the fast-paced serves of today's
game - many observers agree that Agassi is the best service returner in the
history of professional tennis.
Agassi's confirmation to play at the exhibition event at
Kooyong just a week before the Australian Open gave Agassi fans hope that
he will play for at least another year.
After his rededication to tennis in 1998, he has focused
more on physical conditioning than in the past and is now one of the fittest
players on the tour. One of his strategies is to wear down his opponents,
continually putting pressure on them by returning the ball early and deep
at angles. Agassi will stand in one spot and hit the corners while his opponent
is left scrambling from side to side. He will often pass up the winner and
hit a slightly less aggressive shot to make his opponent run a little more
to retrieve a few more shots. His penchant for running players around point
after point has earned him the nickname "The Punisher".
Personal and family life
After a four-year courtship, Agassi married actress Brooke
Shields in a lavish ceremony on April 19, 1997. That February, they had filed
suit against The National Enquirer claiming it printed "false and fabricated"
statements: Brooke was undergoing counseling, binge-eating and taking pills;
Agassi "lashed into" Brooke and he and Brooke's mother "tangled
like wildcats" when she demanded a prenup; the case was dismissed. Agassi
filed for divorce, which was granted on April 9, 1999.
By the time the divorce was final, Agassi was dating the
German tennis legend Steffi Graf. With only their mothers as witnesses, they
were married at his home on October 22, 2001. Their son, Jaden Gil, was born
6 weeks prematurely on October 26 that year. Their daughter, Jaz Elle, was
born on October 3, 2003.
In 1995, when Agassi's former brother-in-law, Pancho Gonzales,
died broke and nearly friendless in Las Vegas, it was Andre Agassi who paid
for his funeral.
Quotes
About Pete Sampras' retirement: "You grow up with a
guy, you compete against him for so long, he's such a big part of your career,
something that's pretty special, so you do have that sense of personal regret
that he's not around any more. You miss having that around."
During the 2005 US Open: "I've been motivated by overcoming
challenge and overcoming the hurdles and obstacles that face me. There still
is plenty out there to get motivated by."
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