Andre Agassi turns 50 - bird of paradise on a roller coaster ride
With shaggy hair and torn jeans, Andre Agassi entered the big tennis stage in 1986 as a 15-year-old, 15 years later he married the German idol Steffi Graf - on Wednesday the American who went through ups and downs will be 50 years old.
by SID / red
last edit: Apr 27, 2020, 09:24 pm
The man from the gaming city of Las Vegas celebrated 60 tournament victories, eight of them at the Grand Slams (four times Australia, two US Opens, one Wimbledon and one French Open).
For 101 weeks, Agassi was number one in the tennis world, winning the Davis Cup twice and Olympic gold in 1996 in Atlanta. A German named Becker ended his career, but not Boris, but Benjamin Becker. The defeat in the third round of the 2006 US Open was Agassi's last match. In his autobiography "Open", Agassi describes the emotions that then arose in the legendary American very impressively.
His old companion Boris Becker conveyed best regards to Andre Agassi - and revealed astonishing things. "I could not take your torn jeans, your long dyed hair and your earrings seriously," he wrote in the Bild am Sonntag: "You have cultivated your image and acted as if it was more important to you how you arrived at the others and not how you really are. I was suspicious. " But it took a few years for the beer to be shared. Agassi suffered a bitter five-set Nirederlage against Becker in 1989 in the Davis Cup semifinals, but ended his career against the three-time Wimbledon champion with a 10: 4 record. Andre Agassi's biggest opponent was certainly Pete Sampras. Agassi won only 14 out of 34 games against his compatriot.
Until then, Agassi will be the oldest number one in ATP history
In 1997 it went down with Agassi. His right wrist forced him to take a pause for months, and if he did, he lost. He resorted to the drug crystal meth. But with iron will, the help of the sport and his environment with coach Brad Gilbert and Gil Reyes, he made the turn and worked his way up from number 144 in the world rankings. In 2003, after winning against Jürgen Melzer in Houston, he became the oldest number one in ATP history. Only Roger Federer made it to the top of the charts in even older age in 2018.
In October 2001 he married Steffi Graf, the same month his son Jaden Gil was born, two years later daughter Jaz Elle. A scandal-free and headline-free life, the Agassi / Graf couple still convey the happiness of an ideal world.