What made Andre Agassi so special? If we speak regarding the achievements, they are astounding. Wimbledon champion in 1992. Super star. Then, ranked 141 in the world back away to play challengers. He didn’t go via the easy route of wild cards in his rise back and grinded his way up. The crowining glory has to be the 1999 French triumph which made him only the 5th man to win all four grand slams.
He has been an immense talent which is why, perhaps, a few people feel he achieved less compared to a Sampras. Agassi held his own even against Sampras and was the only opponent Sampras felt could defeat him even when Sampras was playing to his best. Agassi has had his roller coaster ride and it wasn’t as smooth as the Sampras career but he is a great in his own right and that should be that.
There was much more to Agassi than the achievements and the Sampras rivalry. Agassi was first the rebel and the enigma. Then, he became the super star. Then, he cut his hair off. I remember seeing this bald man with a frenchie playing tennis one fine day and thinking – ‘hmm good ground strokes and promising player. How have I not heard of him before.’ Then, the score board flashed Andre Agassi and it was a shocker. Apparently, balding gave Agassi a lot of tension for a long time and it was a huge relief for him when he cut off the famous hair.
The ground strokes were as good as that of any and the service return was the best in the world. All the while, the determination was inspirational. What I liked a lot about Agassi was the class with which he carried himself every where. The best parts were not his play but the way Agassi answered questions. He would always smile. He would never get abrasive. He would reply with a lot of respect to the question and always gave the perfect answer. Agassi was as good as the best diplomat in the world with words. Except, he didn’t use diplomacy.
When Sampras retired, Agassi said this:
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.
Many people are having the same feeling right now. Soon, we will say bye bye to the heart of tennis in the 90s and shouts of Agassssi between points will be heard no more. Thanks for the memories.
ofcourse the fact that he won all the four titles on different surfaces makes his achievement all the more special.
Btw…Agassi would be only the third man to do it…And he won it over the course of his career (as you obviously know) but before him its only been Don Budge and Rod Laver. I can’t think of anybody else (Borg only won Wimbledon and the French) and Lendl never won Wimbledon and obviously Sampras never won french.
He may have been the 5th person to do it..but even then Budge, Connolly, Court and Graf all won it in one year. Since then Seren has done it as well and so did Navratilova. (at some point of time)
But what makes Mrs. Agassi’s victory in 1988 all the more special is the fact that Steffi did it on different surfaces! When Laver and Budge did it …all the slams barring French were played on grass.
Anyway, moot points all..We will MISS Agassi. My god was this chap special.
okay! I got it wrong…quick Wikipedia check tells me Emerson and Perry have done it as well.. !!
Tennis has always been my favourite sport and Agassi has been my favourite sportsman for well over 15 yrs now.The first ever tennis match i remember seeing was Andre-Goran Wimb final 92 and it was love at first sight for me.From there on it has been an emotional rollercoaster.The thing i liked most about Agassi was that he was so expressive on court without trying to be.Nah,he didnt possess the famous upper-cut that Nadal uses.He doesnt throw his raquet around like Marat(Davai Marat).Agassi’s eyes said it all.I will never forget the thrill i got when i heard that Andre had won the French open thereby completing a career GS.That became a major weapon for me in my arguements with Sampras fans(Yeah,I agree Pete is the better tennis player).Not to forget the fact that Agassi won the Olympic gold and not to forget a cpl of Davis Cups.I will be up early in the morning tomorrow Andre and cheer you on in your last tournament.The game will miss you Andre.U are the best.
PS:Go Jaden and Jazz.I will remain somewhat neutral till you two hit the tennis scene.If you both dont go on to become the worlds best,then i will discount the theory of inheritance and genes getting passed on and all those things.
Long Live Andre the giant
He was definitely always fun to watch…
Sportsnob, women’s tennis has always been less competitive than men’s tennis. So a lot of women winning all four grand slams in the past isn’t that huge. Even now, the men have much tougher first and second rounds in grand slams though women’s tennis has definitely become much more competitive.
There is another aspect which makes Graf’s grandslam (winning all four in one year) much more special. Laver has done the grandslam as well (two times in fact with a gap). Graf also won the Olympic gold in 88. So she is the only person, man or woman, to win the ‘golden’ grandslam.
Srinath, I hope Jaden Gill and Jazz do well too but the weight of expectations will be huge on them if they do take up tennis! :)
Jon, definitely. Ah I will miss him so much.
I believe Agassi is the only guy to win all four majors and also an Olympic Gold Medal in tennis. So he’s still achieved something that no one else has.
Yeah Anuj. He is the only guy to do it. If Federer doesn’t emulate him (Federer is pretty enthusiastic about the Olympics), it will be a record which will take some beating. Even for Federer, getting all 5 will be tough.
[...] Why do feel so sad? A part of us dies with the retirement of these heroes. That’s why. On a related note, my remembrances of Agassi and a take on Sampras and the greats can be read here and here respectively. Tags: Retirement. [...]