Andre Kirk Agassi (born April 29, 1970) is a former World No. 1 professional American tennis player who won eight Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. He is generally considered by critics and fellow players to be among the greatest tennis players of all time, and has been called the best service returner in the history of tennis. Known for his unorthodox apparel and attitude, Agassi is often cited as one of the most charismatic players in the history of the game, and along with Pete Sampras is credited for the revived popularity of tennis in the U.S. during the 1990s. He is married to fellow retired professional tennis player and multiple Grand Slam champion Steffi Graf.

Agassi is, with Rod Laver, Don Budge, Fred Perry, Roy Emerson, and Roger Federer, one of only six men to have achieved a Career Grand Slam, one of only three (with Laver and Federer) since the beginning of the Open Era, and the only male player to have achieved a Career Golden Slam. In addition to his Grand Slam and Olympic singles titles, he won the Tennis Masters Cup and was part of a winning Davis Cup team. He won 17 ATP Masters Series tournaments, more than any other player. Agassi's Grand Slam composition is (4 Australian Open, 1 French Open, 1 Wimbledon, 2 US Open) for his career. Tennis magazine named him the 7th greatest male player—and 12th greatest player overall—for the period 1965 through 2005.

After suffering from sciatica caused by two bulging discs in his back, a spondylolisthesis (vertebral displacement) and a bone spur that interferes with the nerve, Agassi retired from professional tennis on September 3, 2006, after losing in the third round of the US Open. He is the founder of the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation, which has raised over $60 million for at-risk children in Southern Nevada. In 2001, the Foundation opened the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas, a K-12 public charter school for at-risk children.

Early life

Agassi was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, to Emmanuel "Mike" Aghassian and Elizabeth "Betty" Agassi (née Dudley). His father is an Iranian of Armenian and Assyrian ethnicity who represented Iran in boxing at the 1948 and 1952 Olympic Games before emigrating to the United States. Andre Agassi's mother, Betty, is a breast cancer survivor.

Mike Agassi was renowned for his domineering nature, reportedly taking a hammer to matches and banging on the fences in disgust when Andre lost a point. He sometimes screamed at officials and was ejected more than once. At age 13, Andre was sent to Nick Bollettieri's Tennis Academy in Florida. He was meant to stay for only eight weeks because that was all his father could afford. However, after ten minutes of watching Agassi rally, Bollettieri called Mike and said, "Take your check back. He's here for free," claiming that Agassi had more natural talent than anyone else he had seen.

He turned professional at the age of 16. His first tournament was in La Quinta, California. He won his first match against John Austin 6–4, 6–2 but then lost his second match to Mats Wilander 6–1, 6–1. By the end of the year, Agassi was ranked World No. 91.

Playing style

Early on in his career, Agassi would look to end points quickly, typically by inducing a weak return with a deep, hard shot, and then playing a winner at an extreme angle. His return of serve, baseline game, and keen sense of anticipation were among the best in the game, and helped him win the Wimbledon title in 1992, still in the era of the serve and volley players. On the rare occasion that he charged the net, Agassi liked to take the ball in the air and hit a swinging volley for the winner.

Agassi continually put pressure on opponents with a preference to taking the ball early and was famously known for swinging deep angles like a smoking backhand up the line. His strength was dictating play from the back of the court while growing up his father and Nick Bollettieri trained him in this way. He was never known for a strong serve, net work or volleying. When in control of a point, Agassi would often pass up an opportunity to attempt a winner and hit a slightly more conservative shot, both to minimize his errors and to make his opponent run more. His penchant for running players around point after point has earned him the nickname "The Punisher".

Agassi's serve was never the strength of his game, but it improved steadily over the course of his career, and went from being a liability to being above average. He often used his hard slice serve in the deuce service box to seek to send his opponent off the court, followed by a shot to the opponent's opposite corner. Agassi's service speed when hitting a flat first serve would often range between to . His second serve however was usually only in the mid 80's. He relied on a heavy kick serve for his second serve.

Tennis career

1986–1993

Agassi turned professional in 1986 and won his first top-level singles title in 1987 at the Sul American Open in Itaparica. He ended the year ranked World No. 25. He won six additional tournaments in 1988 (Memphis, U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, Forest Hills WCT, Stuttgart Outdoor, Volvo International and Livingston Open), and, by December of that year, he had surpassed US$2 million in career prize money after playing in just 43 tournaments – the fastest anyone in history had reached that level. His year-end ranking was World No. 3, behind second-ranked Ivan Lendl and top-ranked Mats Wilander. Both the Association of Tennis Professionals and Tennis magazine named Agassi the Most Improved Player of the Year for 1988.

In addition to not playing the Australian Open (which would later become his best Grand Slam event) for the first eight years of his career, Agassi chose not to play at Wimbledon from 1988 through 1990 and publicly stated that he did not wish to play there because of the event's traditionalism, particularly its "predominantly white" dress code to which players at the event are required to conform.

Strong performances on the tour meant that Agassi was quickly tipped as a future Grand Slam champion. While still a teenager, he reached the semi-finals of both the French Open and the US Open in 1988, and made the US Open semifinals in 1989. He began the 1990s, however, with a series of near-misses. He reached his first Grand Slam final in 1990 at the French Open, where he was favored before losing in four sets to Andrés Gómez. He reached his second Grand Slam final of the year at the US Open, defeating defending champion Boris Becker in the semifinals. His opponent in the final was Pete Sampras; a year earlier, Agassi had beaten Sampras 6-2, 6-1 after which he told his coach that he felt bad for Sampras because he was never going to make it as a pro. Agassi lost the US Open final to Sampras 6–4, 6–3, 6–2. The rivalry between these two American players became the dominant rivalry in tennis over the rest of the decade. Also in 1990, Agassi helped the United States win its first Davis Cup in 8 years and won his only Tennis Masters Cup, beating reigning Wimbledon champion Stefan Edberg in the final.

In 1991, Agassi reached his second consecutive French Open final, where he faced fellow Bollettieri Academy alumnus Jim Courier. Courier emerged the victor in a five set final. Agassi decided to play at Wimbledon in 1991, leading to weeks of speculation in the media about the clothes he would wear. He eventually emerged for the first round in a completely white outfit. He went on to reach the quarter-finals on that occasion, losing in five sets to David Wheaton.

Agassi's Grand Slam tournament breakthrough came at Wimbledon, not at the French Open or the US Open where he had previously enjoyed success. In 1992, he defeated Goran Ivanišević in a five set final. Along the way, Agassi overcame two former Wimbledon champions in Boris Becker and John McEnroe. No other baseliner would triumph at Wimbledon until Lleyton Hewitt ten years later. Agassi was named the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year in 1992. Agassi once again played on the United States' Davis Cup winning team in 1992. It was their second Davis cup title in three years.

1993 saw Agassi win the only doubles title of his career, at the Cincinnati Masters, partnered with Petr Korda. Agassi missed much of the early part of that year with injuries. Although he made the quarterfinals in his Wimbledon title defense, he lost to eventual champion and World number one Pete Sampras in five-sets. Agassi lost in the first-round at the US Open to Thomas Enqvist and required wrist surgery late in the year.

1994–1997

With new coach Brad Gilbert on board, Agassi began to employ more of a tactical, consistent approach, which fueled his resurgence. Agassi started slowly in 1994, losing in the first week at the French Open and Wimbledon. Nevertheless, Agassi emerged during the hard court season, winning the Canadian Open. His comeback culminated at the 1994 US Open with a 5-set fourth-round victory against compatriot Michael Chang and then becoming the first man to capture the US Open as an unseeded player, beating Michael Stich in the final.

In 1995, Agassi shaved his balding head, breaking with his old "image is everything" style. He competed in the 1995 Australian Open (his first appearance at the event) and won, beating Sampras in a four set final. Agassi and Sampras met in five tournament finals in 1995, all on hardcourt, with Agassi winning three. Agassi won three Masters Series events in 1995 (Cincinnati, Key Biscayne, and the Canadian Open) and seven titles total. He compiled a career-best 26-match winning streak during the summer hardcourt circuit, which ended when he lost the US Open final to Sampras.

Agassi reached the World No. 1 ranking for the first time in April 1995. He held that ranking until November, for a total of 30 weeks. In terms of win/loss record, 1995 was Agassi's best year. He won 73 matches and lost only 9. Agassi was also once again a key player on the United States' Davis Cup winning team - the third and final Davis Cup title of Agassi's career.

1996 was a less successful year for Agassi, as he failed to reach any Grand Slam final. He suffered two early round losses at the hands of compatriots Chris Woodruff and Doug Flach at the French Open and Wimbledon, respectively, and lost to Chang in straight sets in the Australian and US Open semifinals. At the time, Agassi blamed the loss on the windy conditions but later admitted in his biography that he had tanked (lost on purpose) this match as he bore a grudge against Boris Becker whom he would have faced in the final. The high point for Agassi was winning the men's singles gold medal at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, beating Sergi Bruguera of Spain in the final 6–2, 6–3, 6–1. Agassi also successfully defended his singles titles in Cincinnati and Key Biscayne.

1997 was the low point of Agassi's career. His wrist injury resurfaced, and he played only 24 matches during the year. He would later confess that he started using crystal methamphetamine at that time, allegedly on the urging of a friend. He failed an ATP drug test, but wrote a letter claiming the same friend spiked a drink. The ATP dropped the failed drug test as a warning. He stated upon admitting to his drug use that the letter was a lie. He quit the drug soon after. He won no top-level titles and his ranking sank to World No. 141 on November 10, 1997.

1998–2003

In 1998, Agassi 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). He played some classic matches in this period, most notably against his rival Pete Sampras and popular Australian Patrick Rafter.

In 1998, Agassi won five titles and leapt from World No. 122 at the start of the year to World No. 6 at the end of it, making it the highest jump into the top 10 made by any player during a single calendar year. At Wimbledon that year, he had an early loss in the second round to ATP player Tommy Haas. He won five titles in ten finals and was runner-up at the Masters Series tournament in Key Biscayne, losing to Marcelo Ríos, who became World No. 1 as a result of winning that tournament.

Agassi entered the history books in 1999 when he came back from two sets to love down to beat Andrei Medvedev in a five-set French Open final, thereby becoming, at the time, only the fifth male player (joining Rod Laver, Fred Perry, Roy Emerson and Don Budge-these have since been joined by a sixth, Roger Federer) to have won all four Grand Slam singles titles during his career. This win also made him the first (of only two, the second being Roger Federer) male players in history to have won all four Grand Slam titles on three different surfaces (clay, grass, and hard courts), a tribute to his adaptability, as the other four men had won their Grand Slam titles on clay and grass courts. Agassi also became the first male player to win the Career Golden Slam, consisting of all four Grand Slam tournaments plus an Olympic gold medal.

Agassi followed his 1999 French Open victory by reaching the Wimbledon final, where he lost to Sampras in straight sets. He rebounded from his Wimbledon defeat by winning the US Open, beating Todd Martin in five sets (rallying from a 2 sets to 1 deficit) in the final. Agassi ended 1999 as the World No. 1, ending Sampras's record of six consecutive year-ending top rankings (1993–1998). This was the only time Agassi ended the year at number one.

Agassi began the next year by capturing his second Australian Open title, beating Sampras in a five-set semifinal and 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. At the time, Agassi was also only the fourth player since Laver to be the reigning champion of three of four Grand Slam events, missing only the Wimbledon title.

2000 also saw Agassi reach the semifinals at Wimbledon, where he lost in five sets to Rafter in a match considered by many to be one of the best ever played at Wimbledon. At the inaugural Tennis Masters Cup in Lisbon, Agassi reached the final after defeating Marat Safin 6–3, 6–3 in the semifinals to end the Russian's hopes to become the youngest World No. 1 in the history of tennis. Agassi then lost to Gustavo Kuerten in the final, allowing Kuerten to be crowned year-end World No. 1.

Agassi opened 2001 by successfully defending his Australian Open title with a straight-sets final win over Arnaud Clément. Enroute, he beat a cramping Rafter (7–5, 2–6, 6–7, 6–2, 6–3) in front of a sell-out crowd in what turned out to be the Aussie's last Australian Open. At Wimbledon, they met again in the semifinals, where Agassi lost another close match to Rafter, 8–6 in the fifth set. In the quarterfinals at the US Open, Agassi lost a 3 hour, 33 minute epic match with Sampras 6–7(7), 7–6(7), 7–6(2), 7–6(5), with no breaks of serve during the 48-game match. Despite the setback, Agassi finished 2001 ranked World No. 3, becoming the only male tennis player to finish a year ranked in the top 10 in three different decades (1980s - finishing World No. 3 in 1988 and No. 7 in 1989; 1990s - finishing World No. 4 in 1990, No. 10 in 1991, No. 9 in 1992, No. 2 in 1994 and 1995, No. 8 in 1996, No. 6 in 1998 and No. 1 in 1999; 2000s - finishing World No. 6 in 2000, No. 3 in 2001, No. 2 in 2002, No. 4 in 2003, No. 8 in 2004 and No. 7 in 2005). He also was the oldest player (age 31) to finish in the top three since 32-year old Connors finished at World No. 2 in 1984.

2002 opened with disappointment for Agassi, as injury forced him to skip the Australian Open, where he was a two-time defending champion. The last duel between Agassi and Sampras came in the final of the US Open, which Sampras won in four sets and left Sampras with a 20–14 edge in their 34 career meetings. The match proved to be the last of Sampras's career. Agassi's US Open finish, along with his Masters Series victories in Key Biscayne, Rome, and Madrid, helped him finish 2002 as the oldest year-end World No. 2 at 32 years and 8 months.

In 2003, Agassi won the eighth (and final) Grand Slam title of his career at the Australian Open, where he beat Rainer Schüttler in straight sets in the final. In March, he won his sixth career and third consecutive Key Biscayne title, in the process surpassing his wife, Steffi Graf, who was a 5-time winner of the event. The final was his 18th straight win in that tournament, which broke the previous record of 17 set by Sampras from 1993–1995. (Agassi's winning streak continued to 20 after winning his first two matches at the 2004 edition of that tournament before bowing to Agustín Calleri.) With the victory, Agassi became the youngest (19 years old) and oldest (32) winner of the Key Biscayne tournament. On April 28, 2003, he recaptured the World No. 1 ranking after a quarterfinal victory over Xavier Malisse at the Queen's Club Championships to become the oldest top ranked male player since the ATP rankings began at 33 years and 13 days. He held the World No. 1 ranking for two weeks when Lleyton Hewitt took it back on May 12, 2003. Agassi then recaptured the World No. 1 ranking once again on June 16, 2003, which he held for 12 weeks until September 7, 2003. During his career, Agassi held the World No. 1 ranking for a total of 101 weeks. Agassi's ranking slipped when injuries forced him to withdraw from many events. He did manage to reach the US Open semifinals, where he lost to Juan Carlos Ferrero and surrendered his World No. 1 ranking to Ferrero. At the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup, Agassi lost in the final to Federer and finished the year ranked World No. 4. At age 33, he was the oldest player to rank in the top five since Connors, at age 35, was World No. 4 in 1987.

2004–2006

In 2004, Agassi won the Masters series event in Cincinnati to bring his career total to 59 top-level singles titles and a record 17 ATP Masters Series titles, having already won seven of the nine ATP Masters tournament—all except the tournaments in Monte Carlo and Hamburg. At 34, he became the second-oldest singles champion in Cincinnati tournament history (the tournament began in 1899), surpassed only by Ken Rosewall who won the title in 1970 at age 35. He finished the year ranked World No. 8, the oldest player to finish in the top 10 since the 36-year-old Connors was World No. 7 in 1988. Agassi also became only the sixth male player during the open era to reach 800 career wins with his first round victory over Alex Bogomolov in Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles.

Agassi's 2005 began with a quarterfinal loss to Federer at the Australian Open. Agassi had several other deep runs at tournaments but had to withdraw from several events due to injury. He lost to Jarkko Nieminen in the first round of the French Open. He won his fourth title in Los Angeles and reached the final of the Rogers Cup before falling to World No. 2 Rafael Nadal. Agassi's 2005 was defined by an improbable run to the US Open final. After beating Răzvan Sabău and Ivo Karlović in straight sets and Tomáš Berdych in four sets, Agassi won three consecutive five-set matches to advance to the final. The most notable of these matches was his quarterfinal victory over James Blake, where he rallied from two sets down to win 3–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–3, 7–6(6). His other five-set victims were Xavier Malisse in the fourth round and Robby Ginepri in the semifinals. In the final, Agassi faced Federer, who was seeking his second consecutive US Open title and his sixth Grand Slam title in two years. Federer defeated Agassi in four sets, although Agassi gave him a scare when Agassi was up a break in the third set after splitting the first two sets.

Before the 2005 Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, Agassi rolled his ankle in a racquetball accident and tore several ligaments. He was unable to walk for weeks. He nevertheless committed to the tournament, in which he was seeded third, and played Nikolay Davydenko in his first round robin match. Agassi's movement was noticeably hindered, particularly on his backhand return of serve, and he lost in straight sets. He then withdrew from the tournament.

Agassi finished 2005 ranked World No. 7, his 16th time in the year-end top 10 rankings, which tied Connors for the most times ranked in the top 10 at year's end. In 2005, Agassi left Nike after 17 years and signed an endorsement deal with Adidas. A major reason for Agassi leaving Nike was because Nike refused to donate to Agassi's charities and Adidas was more than happy to do so.

Agassi had a poor start to 2006. He was still recovering from an ankle injury and also suffering from back and leg pain and lack of match play. Agassi withdrew from the Australian Open because of the ankle injury, and his back injury and other pains forced him to withdraw from several other events, eventually skipping the entire clay court season, including the French Open. This caused his ranking to drop out of the top 10 for the last time.

Agassi returned for the grass court season, playing a tune-up and then Wimbledon. He was defeated in the third round by World No. 2 (and eventual runner-up) Rafael Nadal 7–6(5), 6–2, 6–4. Against conventions, Agassi, the losing player, was interviewed on court after the match. At Wimbledon, Agassi announced his plans to retire following the US Open.

Agassi played only two events during the summer hardcourt season, with his best result being a quarterfinal loss at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles to Fernando González of Chile 6–4, 3–6, 7–5. As a result, he was unseeded at the US Open.

Agassi had a short but dramatic run in his final US Open. Because of extreme back pain, Agassi was forced to receive anti-inflammatory injections after every match. After a tough four-set win against Andrei Pavel, Agassi faced eighth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis in the second round, who had earlier advanced to the 2006 Australian Open final and Wimbledon semifinals. Agassi won 6–4, 6–4, 3–6, 5–7, 7–5 as the younger Baghdatis succumbed to muscle cramping in the final set. In his last match, Agassi fell to 112th ranked big-serving Benjamin Becker of Germany in four sets. Agassi received an eight minute standing ovation from the crowd after the match and delivered a memorable retirement speech.

Earnings

Agassi earned more than US$ 30 million in prize-money during his career, third only to Sampras and Federer to date. He also earned more than US $25 million a year through endorsements, during his career and fourth in all sports at the time.

Post retirement

Since retiring after the 2006 US Open, Agassi has participated in a series of charity tournaments and continues his work with his own charity. On September 5, 2007, Agassi was a surprise guest commentator for the Andy Roddick/Roger Federer US Open quarterfinal. He played an exhibition match at Wimbledon, teamed with his wife, Steffi Graf, to play with Tim Henman and Kim Clijsters. He will play World Team Tennis for the Philadelphia Freedoms in the summer of 2009 and played at the Outback Champions Series event for the first time. He played the Cancer Treatment Centers of America Tennis Championships at Surprise, Arizona where he reached the final before bowing to eventual champions Todd Martin who captured his fourth career Outback Champions Series win. On the way to the finals, Agassi beat Mikael Pernfors in the quarterfinals and Wayne Ferreira in the semifinals. However, he clarified that he will not be playing the tour on a full-time basis as he only played the tournament as a favor to long-time friend Jim Courier.

Personal and family life

Agassi married actress Brooke Shields on April 19, 1997. In February 1998, they filed suit against The National Enquirer claiming it printed "false and fabricated" statements about the couple, but the case was dismissed. The couple later filed for divorce, which was granted on April 9, 1999.

At the 1999 French Open, Agassi and Steffi Graf were the surprise champions, since he had not won a Grand Slam title since 1995 and she since 1996. At the winners' ball, they met each other for the second time. Shortly after they started dating. Graf retired after they both reached the Wimbledon final in July. They were married on October 22, 2001. Their son, Jaden Gil, was born four days later, October 26. Their daughter, Jaz Elle, was born on October 3, 2003. The couple lives in the Las Vegas area and own several vacation homes.

Agassi's older sister, Rita, was married to tennis player Pancho Gonzales. In 1995, when Gonzales died in Las Vegas, Agassi paid for the funeral. Long-time trainer Gil Reyes has been called one of Agassi's closest friends; some have described him as being a "father figure" for Andre Agassi. Andre Agassi's other sister, Tami, like their mother, Betty Agassi, is a breast cancer survivor.

In December 2008, Agassi's childhood friend and former business manager Perry Rogers sued Graf for $50,000 in management fees he claimed that she owed him.

Agassi's autobiography, entitled "Open: An Autobiography," was published in November 2009. In it, Agassi admitted to using and testing positive for methamphetamine in 1997, and that his then-distinctive long hair was actually a wig; in Agassi's opinion, his defeat in the 1990 French Open final was partly due to issues with the wearing of the wig. The book reached the number 1 position on the New York Times Best Seller list and received overwhelmingly favorable reviews.

Politics

Agassi is a registered Democrat and has donated more than $100,000 to Democratic candidates.

Philanthropy

Agassi has participated in many charity organizations and founded the Andre Agassi Charitable Association in 1994, which assists Las Vegas' young people. Agassi was awarded the ATP Arthur Ashe Humanitarian award in 1995 for his efforts to help disadvantaged youth. He is regularly cited as the most charitable and socially involved player in professional tennis. It has also been surmised that he may be the most charitable athlete of his generation, which includes Lance Armstrong.

Andre Agassi's charities help in assisting children reach their athletic potential. His Boys & Girls Club sees 2,000 children throughout the year and boasts a world class junior tennis team. It also has a basketball program (the Agassi Stars) and a rigorous system that encourages a mix of academics and athletics.

In 2001, Agassi opened up the Andre Agassi College Prepatory Academy in Las Vegas, a tuition-free charter school for at-risk children in the area. In 2009, the graduating class had 100 percent graduation rate and a 100 percent college acceptance rate. Among other child-related programs that Agassi supports through his Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation is Clark County's only residential facility for abused and neglected children called Child Haven. In 1997, Agassi donated funding to Child Haven for a six-room classroom building now named the Agassi Center for Education. His foundation also provided "$720,000 to assist in the building of the Andre Agassi Cottage for Medically Fragile Children. This facility opened in December 2001 and accommodates developmentally delayed or handicapped children and children quarantined for infectious diseases. It houses approximately 20 beds and gives children with special needs the special attention needed to make them feel comfortable in their new surroundings."

In 2007, Agassi, Muhammad Ali, Lance Armstrong, Warrick Dunn, Jeff Gordon, Mia Hamm, Tony Hawk, Andrea Jaeger, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Mario Lemieux, Alonzo Mourning and Cal Ripken, Jr. founded the charity Athletes for Hope, which helps professional athletes get involved in charitable causes and inspires millions of non-athletes to volunteer and support the community.

Quotations

• "Image is Everything." - coined by Canon and announced by a teenage Agassi in a series of commercials, this quote was associated with Agassi and long used as a criticism of his character. In his book, Agassi writes, "They treat this ridiculous throwaway slogan as if it's my Confession, which makes as much sense as arresting Marlon Brando for murder because of a line he uttered in The Godfather."
• 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." After defeating James Blake in a quarterfinal, Agassi said, "First of all, let me say, 1:15 in the morning, for 20,000 people to still be here, I wasn't the winner, tennis was. That's awesome. I don't know if I've ever felt so good here before."
• When Mats Wilander was asked in 2005 to name the top five tennis players of the previous thirty years, he placed Agassi, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Björn Borg in the top four (in no order) and tied John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl and Jimmy Connors for fifth place. Concerning Agassi, Wilander said, "He has some limitations, like he can't serve and volley, yet he has won all four Slams. He has a very high energy level, quite like Borg. He is on fifth gear from the very first point. There is some abnormality in his eyes, otherwise he wouldn't have had such a phenomenal return. He sees the ball like no one else and just guides it wherever he wants to. He's just played a Grand Slam final at 35, that tells me he wasted the first five years of his career, otherwise, he couldn't have lasted this long. No one has done more to tennis than Agassi and Borg."
• “When Andre’s on, forget it,” says Sampras. “He does practically everything better than anybody else.”

Records

• These records were attained in Open Era of tennis.

Grand Slam	Years	Record accomplished	Player tied
Wimbledon US Open Australian Open Olympics French Open	1992 1994 1995 1996 1999	Career Golden Slam	Stands alone
Wimbledon US Open Australian Open French Open	1992 1994 1995 1999	Career Grand Slam	Rod Laver Roger Federer
Australian Open	1995-2003	4 wins overall	Stands alone
Australian Open	2000-04	26 consecutive match victories	Stands alone
Australian Open	2000-03	3 wins in 4 years	Roger Federer
Australian Open	2000-01	2 consecutive titles	Ken Rosewall Guillermo Vilas Johan Kriek Mats Wilander Stefan Edberg Ivan Lendl Jim Courier Roger Federer

Other records:

Most ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (formerly ATP Masters Series) titles: 17

Oldest top ranked male player in the ATP Entry Rankings: 33 years 4 months.

Career statistics

See also

• List of Grand Slam Men's Singles champions
• Tennis male players statistics
• Sampras-Agassi rivalry

References

1. CBC Sports: "Tennis's love affair with Agassi comes to an end"
2. Telegraph.co.uk: "Grand-slammed"
3. BBC: "Stars pay tribute to Agassi"
4. LA Times: "Sampras, Agassi Have Just Begun to Fight"
5. The Independent: "Don't Walk Away, Andre"
6. Los Angeles Times coverage
7. Tennis.com: "40 Greatest Players of the Tennis Era"
8. [1]
9. http://books.google.com/books?id=5R1y1nvcWccC&pg=PA278&lpg=PA278&dq=andre+aghassi+Armenian+-wikipedia.org&source=bl&ots=MiSYlmHbHG&sig=wMd8xu9J8iOQyv_RuVwJvaJWiyc&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=48&ct=result
10. http://www.persianmirror.com/culture/famous/bios/andreagassi.cfm
11. http://www.zindamagazine.com/html/archives/1995/zn082895.html
12. http://www.peopleandprofiles.com/ProfilesDet-28/Andre+Agassi.html?profile_id=127
13. Open: Andre Agassi HarpersCollins 2009
14. http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/news/story?id=4600027
15. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/8329193.stm
16. Andre Agassi player profile
17. Roger Federer has since duplicated this feat, appearing in ten consecutive Grand Slam finals from 2005–2007.
18. Pete Sampras held the 1993 Wimbledon, 1993 US Open, and 1994 Australian Open titles simultaneously. Jimmy Connors won all three of those events in 1974, although at the time all three were on grass courts. Mats Wilander won all but Wimbledon in 1988 during his similar rise to be the year-end World No. 1. Federer has since duplicated this feat, holding all Grand Slam titles except the French Open at the end of 2004 as well as throughout 2006 and 2007. Rafael Nadal won the 2008 French Open, 2008 Wimbledon, and 2009 Australian Open.
19. Believe the hype
20. Unbreakable
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22. Weeks at Number One
23. ESPN - Agassi signs Adidas deal after long-term deal with Nike - Tennis
24. Andre Agassi Will Play WTT SI.com, March 1, 2009
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27. Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf Wed
28. Father Knew Best
29. Peter Bodo Blog: Papa Gil
30. Alliance Sports Management v. Stephanie Graf Las Vegas Sun. Accessed 23 October 2009
31. "Ex-manager for Agassi sues Graf" Las Vegas Review-Journal 7 December 2008. Accessed 23 October 2009
32. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2009/10/27/2009-10-27_agassi.html
33. http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/sports/NATL-Andre-Agassi-Admits-to-Using-Crystal-Meth-66510482.html
34. Andre Agassi admits long hairstyle was a wig, www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved on 31 October 2009.
35. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/books/bestseller/besthardnonfiction.html?ref=bestseller
36. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2009/11/book-reviews-agassi-mayle-mourlevat-palin.html
37. Hollywood, sports celebs not on same donation page
38. Andre Agassi's Federal Campaign Contribution Report
39. Sportsman/Person of the Year
40. Agassi: The heart of tennis
41. Andre Agassi quotes
42. Tennis: Agassi sends a reminder to the younger set
43. Mats Wilander - Former world No. 1 picks his top five of last three decades

Further reading

• Open Andre Agassi HarperCollins 2009

Video

• Wimbledon 2000 Semi-Final - Agassi vs. Rafter (2003) Starring: Andre Agassi, Patrick Rafter; Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: August 16, 2005, Run Time: 213 minutes, ASIN: B000A343QY.
• Charlie Rose with Andre Agassi (May 7, 2001) Charlie Rose, Inc., DVD Release Date: August 15, 2006, Run Time: 57 minutes, ASIN: B000HBL6VO.
• Wimbledon Record Breakers (2005) Starring: Andre Agassi, Boris Becker; Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: August 16, 2005, Run Time: 52 minutes, ASIN: B000A3XYYQ.

Video games

• Andre Agassi Tennis for the SNES, Sega Genesis, Sega Game Gear, Master System, and Mobile phone
• Agassi Tennis Generation for PS2 and GBA
• Smash Court Pro Tournament for PS2

External links

• For Agassi, it's substance over style
• TheTennisChannel.com player profile
• IOC profile
• agassiopen.com
• foxsports.com article
• The Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation
• Complete Text and Video of Agassi's Farewell to Tennis Speech at the U.S. Open
• Complete Text, Audio, and Video of Agassi's Tennis Hall of Fame Induction for Steffi Graf