Andre Agassi

Born: April 29, 1970 in Las Vegas (Nevada)
Height: 1.80 m
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

A prodigy, he was just 4 years old when he traded shots with the era’s top players: Ilie Năstase, Harold Solomon, and teenage Björn Borg. His father, Emanoul Aghassian (a former Armenian professional boxer who represented Iran at the Olympics in 1948 and 1952), placed tennis balls in his cradle. Aghassian – aka Mike Agassi – described his three older children as “guinea pigs” in refining the techniques he employed to shape Andre into a world-class athlete. The young Agassi captivated audiences as the most thrilling teenager to watch in the late 1980s; at age 18 (six titles in 1988, two in the “best of five’ finals – Memphis & Forest Hills), many envisioned him as a contender for the greatest player in history. His baseline strikes from both wings were ferocious, introducing a bold innovation to the tour – no one before him played with such aggression from within the court often striking just after the bounce; incoming deep shots posed no challenge due to his superb coordination, earning him the title of the most assertive baseliner ever… admittedly he lost his first two Slam semifinals (French Open & US Open), but to the best players in the world at the time.
The year 1989 marked a reversal, however; instead of claiming his first major(s), Agassi slipped in the ATP rankings (played only one big final – Rome), revealing certain flaws in his game:
– outdated landing on his right leg after the serve;
– a highly erratic game-style (low percentage of first serves in, impulsive net charges, occasional retreating on second-serve returns, expending excessive energy in the initial two hours);
– positioning himself inside the court as a receiver rendered him susceptible to failing to return more serves than his peers (however, this tactic proved a double-edged sword: Agassi maintained this stance throughout his career and was regarded as the finest returner of his era, as his counterattack became devastating whenever he accurately anticipated the serve’s trajectory);
– a front-runner mentality: he dominated many matches effortlessly, but on off days, he grew disheartened, resistant to adjusting tactics, reluctant to battle… projecting an attitude of <<I’ll win on my terms: if I can’t, I’d rather lose than win unattractively>>
I have no doubt that Agassi ranks as the second-best player of the 1990s (behind Pete Sampras) and a Top 10 Open Era player among retirees, largely due to his endurance – he’s a multiple Grand Slam champion, though reflecting on his journey, two alternate paths seem plausible:
– he could indeed have emerged as the greatest in history (at least during his era’s close);
– he might have achieved far less had he not unearthed the resolve to explore new strategies and restart
The setbacks of 1989 paled in comparison to those in 1993 (dropping to No. 31) and 1997 (plummeting to No. 141 – competing in Challengers for the first time since his teenage years, a humbling experience for someone who, just two years prior, had reigned as the world’s best!). Agassi first approached the tennis summit in late 1990 – in commanding fashion, he conquered the Masters, defeating the era’s top two players in his final two matches, then secured the opening rubber of the Davis Cup final, enabling the USA to overcome Australia by Saturday. There was little doubt that Agassi, with an enhanced serve, was destined for his inaugural Grand Slam title in the early 90s, yet it wasn’t to be – he lost in Paris (1990 and 1991) his first two finals as well as his first US Open final. The challenge was compounded by Agassi’s schedule – in his early career, he avoided trips to Australia (skipping the event in the years 1988-94!) and Britain (skipping Wimbledon in the years 1988-90). Ironically, his first major triumph came on a surface he feared after a lesson from Henri Leconte at Wimbledon ’87. In 1991, he mastery of his baseline ground-strokes, nearly reaching the semifinal (a dramatic, peculiar loss to David Wheaton). The following year, he subdued the grass-court elite in his last three matches, first overcoming Boris Becker and John McEnroe – former multiple champions of the event – then the future titlist Goran Ivanišević in a tight five-setter, despite the Croat appearing invincible with serves surpassing anyone else during the fortnight.
Two distinct years of Agassi’s career merit special recognition: 1995 and 1999. In 1995, his second coach (Brad Gilbert succeeded Nick Bollettieri) dedicated himself fully to his first of three “Andrews,” and finally, Sampras – after years of unchallenged supremacy (1993-94) – faced a worthy adversary. Their riveting rivalry of the mid-90s ignited in Paris ’94 and persisted until the US Open ’95 final, where Agassi was a slight favorite but fell in four sets, a defeat that distanced him from ending the year at the top. In 1999, triumphing at Roland Garros under extraordinarily tense circumstances throughout the tournament (i.a. he began his relationship with the best female player of the 90s – his future wife – Steffi Graf), Agassi turned into the first fully Open Era player to win all four majors (his first US Open title came in 1994, first Aussie Open a few months later)! The others to achieve a career Grand Slam were Fred Perry, Don Budge, Roy Emerson, and Rod Laver. Budge and Laver (twice) accomplished it in a single year. Laver descended to the court to present the trophy to Agassi. “To be assigned a place among some of the game’s greatest players is an honor I’ll cherish for the rest of my life,” Agassi said through tears. “I never dreamed I’d ever return here after so many years; I’m so proud. I’ll never forget this. I’m truly fortunate.” Later that year he claimed the US Open title in another five-set final which significantly helped him to finish the year as the world’s No. 1 at last.
Two phases define Agassi’s illustrious career, distinguished by his hair or its absence: 1986-94, when he sported long dyed hair, colourful outfit and chaos reigned in nearly every aspect of his on-court performance, and 1995-2006 [especially under Darren Cahill, who replaced Gilbert in 2002, becoming the oldest player ever (at the time) ranked world No. 1 in May 2003, mainly thanks to his last Slam title & capturing Miami], when he was bald, wearing a classical attire, and relentless in executing tactical plans; irrespective of this dual nature, Agassi was universally admired worldwide, though at times highly controversial (defaulted twice, arguably deserving default on several additional occasions)… Agassi is one of barely three players in history to have completed the Golden Slam, winning all four Grand Slam titles and Olympic singles gold.

Career record: 870–274 [ 320 events ]
Career titles: 60
Highest ranking: No. 1
Best GS results:
Australian Open (champion 1995, 2000-01, 2003; semifinal 1996 & 04; quarterfinal ’05)
Roland Garros (champion 1999; runner-up 1990-91; semifinal 1988 & 92; quarterfinal 1995, 2001-03)
Wimbledon (champion 1992; runner-up 1999; semifinal 1995, 00-01; quarterfinal 1991 & 93)
US Open (champion 1994, 99; runner-up 1990, 95, 02, 05; semifinal 1988-89, 96 & 03; quarterfinal 92, 01, 04)
Masters champion 1990
Davis Cup champion 1990, 92 & 95 (didn’t play in the final)
Olympic Gold medal 1996

Year-end ranking 1986-2005: 91 – 25 – 3 – 7 – 4 – 10 – 9 – 24 – 2 – 2 – 8 – 110 – 6 – 1 – 6 – 3 – 2 – 4 – 8 – 7 – 150