Tennis world has seen some real flamboyant and entertaining players. But one player beats them all in terms of sheer talent, charisma, and flamboyance. He is Andre Kirk Agassi .
Andre Agassi, the Baap of all tennis players, was born in Las Vegas, on April 29th, 1970. His father, Mike Agassi, a former boxer, started coaching Andre as soon as he was old enough to hold a tennis racquet in his tiny hands. At the age of 11, Andre was sent to the Nick Bolletieri Tennis Academy in Florida.
Andre turned pro in 1986 and soon became the darling of tennis fans all over the world. He has an aggressive style of play, and is the best returner of service in the game. He has got an all court game, and is one of the elite few people to have won all the four Grand Slam tournaments.
Today at the age of 35, when most of his peers are playing the senior tour, Agassi has reached the finals of the US Open. Amazing isn’t it! Andre Agassi’s career hasn’t been a bed of roses all the way. One look at his career graph and you need not be a tennis expert to tell that he has been through some pretty tough time. Agassi’s career can be effectively divided into three phases.
Phase 1 (1986-1994) : Andre turned pro in 1986, at the age of 16. A product of the famous Nick Bolletieri Tennis Academy, he soon started winning matches, and fans. But his first title came only a year later in 1987. The Agassi of Phase 1 was a “wild child”, with long bleached hair, flashy neon coloured clothes and a fast lifestyle. He had the reputation of being the richest player on the ATP tour without winning a single major title. But that didn’t bother Andre. He was famous, the crowds loved him, the media loved him, and he was raking in the moolah with loads of endorsements. He loved playing in coloured clothes so much that he refused to play at Wimbledon for many years. Wimbledon had and still has a strict White Clothes Only policy . His first grand slam title was Wimbledon in 1992, when he defeated Goran Ivanisevic. Ironic or what!
Phase 2 (1995-1998) : The second phase in his career was a roller coaster ride, with some success and plenty of failures. During this time, Agassi got injured and his ranking slid down to below 120. He started playing the Challengers and Satellite circuits and slowly clawed his way back to the top. He entered the US open of 1994 as an unseeded player and went on to win it. During this time, he married actress Brooke Shields. They were later separated. Phase 2 is a turning point in his career. It was during this phase that we got to see a new Agassi. More mature, less flamboyant and more importantly, a more focused and serious player.
Phase 3 (1998-present) : Agassi’s career which had started an upward rise in 1995, soon started going down. He just put his head down and worked harder and got back to the top. 1999 was a historic year, as he won the French Open, and became the first man after Fred Perry, Rod Laver and Emerson to win all four majors. At the age of 35, Agassi can still give the young guns (Roddick, Hewitt, Blake and company) a run for their money. Andre Agassi is one of the most talented and charismatic players of our time.
Tennis is just one aspect of Agassi’s life that people know. Very few people know about his generous side. Andre Agassi has started a charitable institution called Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation , that helps underprivileged kids. The Andre Agassi that we know today is so much different from the pre 1994 Andre Agassi. On the personal front, Agassi’s life is much more peaceful. He is happily married to former world number 1, Steffi Graf and they have two beautiful children.
P.S Andre Agassi lost the finals of the 2005 US Open to Roger Federer , but one thing is for sure, This baldy ROCKS