1996 and 2000
In Atlanta there was a 100th anniversary of the modern Olympic games, which had been revived by Pierre de Coubertin in Athens 1896. Andre Agassi who’d skipped two Olympics during his career (1988, 1992) was very eager to get the commemorative medal in front of the home crowd on his beloved surface.
…Atlanta (USA), 1996… XXVI Olympic Games
They riot because they want to see Andre Agassi. They clamor for glamor. The Olympic tennis fans at Stone Mountain Park know how to get their money’s worth: Watch the highly erratic Agassi dig himself deep into a pit, pile break points on top of himself, then growl and snap and slash his way out with precision ground strokes. Agassi may not be worth a riot, but he’s worth watching. The down-on-his-game tennis player is clawing his way to the medal rounds and landed in the men’s semifinals by virtue of his 7-5 4-6 7-5 win over South African Wayne Ferreira on Tuesday. The top-seeded Agassi will play Leander Paes of India, a wild-card entrant, in the semifinals. Paes was the surprise winner Tuesday over 14th-seeded Renzo Furlan of Italy 6-1 7-5. Spain’s Sergei Bruguera defeated MaliVai Washington in another quarterfinal match 7-6(8) 4-6 7-5. Bruguera will play Fernando Meligeni of Brazil, who defeated Andrei Olhovskiy of Russia 7-5 6-3. Agassi has suffered through a dismal season but still commands attention.
With no sweat and a couple of tears, Andre Agassi became a gold medalist Saturday. The second-generation Olympian overwhelmed Sergi Bruguera of Spain 6-2 6-3 6-1, then succumbed to the emotion of the victory on the medal stand. “Hearing the anthem was the greatest accomplishment I’ve had in this game,” Agassi said. He shared a post-victory embrace with his father, Mike, an Olympic boxer for Iran in 1948 and 1952. The elder Agassi rarely attends matches because they make him nervous, but he surprised his son by flying in from Las Vegas for the final. “After the match I gave him a chance to get closer to a gold than he ever got,” Agassi said with a grin. While six top-10 players skipped the Olympics, Agassi said from the beginning of the year the games were his top priority. He passed up the opening ceremony, the athletes village and events in other sports to concentrate on tennis. With the gold in hand, he ranked it ahead of his three Grand Slam titles, including Wimbledon in 1992. “I’ll keep this over all of them,” he said. “To win a Grand Slam in the sport of tennis is the greatest accomplishment inside the sport. To win an Olympic gold medal is the greatest thing you can accomplish in any sport.” Against Bruguera, Agassi made the achievement look easy, hitting the ball deep and hard and seeming to anticipate every shot by the
…Sydney (Australia), 2000… XXVII Olympic Games
Russia’s former world number one Yevgeny Kafelnikov is the only seed left in the men’s singles after beating Gustavo Kuerten in straight sets to reach the last four. Kafelnikov, seeded five, won 6-4 7-5 to set up a semi-final clash with France’s Arnaud Di Pasquale. “It’s a very small thing left for me to do, to win two matches and I will be Olympic gold medallist and champion,” said a confident Kafelnikov. “All I can tell you is
With a marathon performance and a jubilant heave of his racket, Yevgeny Kafelnikov capped a marvelous month for Russian tennis. Kafelnikov outlasted Tommy Haas of Germany 7-6(4) 3-6 6-2 4-6 6-3 for the gold medal in men’s singles Thursday, then celebrated by tossing his racket 15 rows into the stands. “To add a gold medal to my career, it’s absolutely fantastic,” Kafelnikov said. Fellow Russian Elena Dementieva won the silver in women’s singles. Less than three weeks ago, countryman Marat Safin beat Pete Sampras to win the U.S. Open. “My country is taking over in tennis,” Kafelnikov said. “It has been a very sensational year.” Kafelnikov won a 3-hour, 34-minute thriller that came down to the only break point of the final set.
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1996
Washington vs. Carlsen – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNBwJmYDbz8
Agassi vs. Bruguera – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdCC2i_W5rM
2000
Kafelnikov vs. Haas – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeZyqACnjbo