Thomas Muster

Country	Austria
Residence	Leibnitz, Austria
Born	(1967-10-02) 2 October 1967 (age 44) Leibnitz, Austria
Height	180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	75 kg (165 lb)
Turned pro	1985
Plays	Left-handed (one-handed backhand)
Career prize money	$12,252,511
Singles
Career record	622–273 (69.79 %)
Career titles	44
Highest ranking	No. 1 (12 February 1996)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	SF (1989, 1997)
French Open	W (1995)
Wimbledon	1R (1987, 1992, 1993, 1994)
US Open	QF (1993, 1994, 1996)
Doubles
Career record	56–91
Career titles	1
Highest ranking	94 (7 November 1988)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	1R (1989, 1990)
US Open	2R (1986)

Thomas Muster (born 2 October 1967 in Leibnitz, Styria) is a former world no. 1 tennis player from Austria. One of the world's leading clay court players in the 1990s, Muster won the 1995 French Open and at his peak was known as "The King of Clay."^[1] In addition, he won eight Masters 1000 series titles, placing him joint sixth on the all-time list. Muster is one of only three players to win Masters titles on three different surfaces (clay, carpet, and hard court).

Career[link]

Muster first came to prominence when he reached the final of the French Open junior tournament and the Orange Bowl juniors tournament in 1985. He turned professional later that year and won his first tour title at Hilversum, (Netherlands) in 1986.

In 1988, Muster reached six tour finals, winning four of them. He finished the year ranked in the world's top 20 for the first time.

Early in 1989, Muster became the first Austrian to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open and, shortly after that, the first Austrian to be ranked in the world's top 10. In March, he defeated Yannick Noah in the semifinals of the Lipton International Players Championships in Key Biscayne, Florida (now known as the Sony Ericsson Open) to set up a final match with world no. 1 Ivan Lendl. But in the hours that followed that semifinal victory, Muster was struck by a drunk driver, severing ligaments in his left knee and forcing him to default the final. He flew back to Vienna to undergo surgery. With the aid of a special chair designed to allow him to practice hitting balls while recovering from knee surgery, Muster returned to competitive tennis just six months later.^[2]

Muster's comeback continued in 1990, when he won three titles on clay (among which the Italian Open, defeating Andrei Chesnokov in the final) and one on hardcourts; he was runner-up in three tournaments, and reached the semifinals of the French Open. He also helped Austria reach the semifinals of Davis Cup, where they were eliminated 3–2 by the United States despite Muster winning both his singles rubbers against Andre Agassi and Michael Chang. For these achievements, Muster was named the ATP Tour's "Comeback Player of the Year."

Muster was selected Austrian Sportsman of the Year in 1990 and 1995.

Muster won two more titles in 1991 and three in 1992 (all on clay courts).

In 1993, he reached nine tournament finals, winning seven of them. He won 55 of 65 matches on clay.

Muster won three clay-court titles in 1994. He also beat Michael Stich of Germany in a first round Davis Cup tie in Graz. Muster won the five-set, 5 hour 25 minute match 12–10 in the final set. The match was the longest professional tennis match in the world that year.^{[citation needed]}

In 1995, Muster won 12 tournament finals in 14 attempts. Between February and June, he won 40 consecutive clay court matches (the longest winning streak on the surface since Björn Borg had won 46 in 1977–79). He clinched his second Italian Open, defeating Sergi Bruguera, 3–6, 7–6, 6–2, 6–3. At the French Open, Muster won his first and only Grand Slam singles title, when he defeated former champion Michael Chang in the final, 7–5, 6–2, 6–4. Muster is the first, and to date, the only Austrian to win a Grand Slam singles title. Muster had a 65–2 win-loss record on clay during 1995. Although his record on other surfaces was less impressive, a late season victory over Pete Sampras on a fast indoor carpet gave him an outside chance at finishing the year no. 1; however, Sampras finished the year at no. 1.

Muster continued to rack up clay-court victories in 1996. He won seven tournaments, six of them titles he successfully defended after winning them in 1995. His win-loss clay court record in 1996 was 46–3. This made his 1995–96 record on the surface 111–5–the best two-year clay-court record since the open era began in 1968.^{[citation needed]} In February, Muster attained the world no. 1 ranking. He held the ranking initially for just one week, and then regained it for five weeks in March and April. He has a poor record on lawn (having never passed the Wimbledon first round), but had success on hard courts, reaching two Australian Open semifinals and three US Open quarterfinals.

Muster achieved his best results on hard courts in 1997. He won two hard-court titles, including the Lipton International Players Championships, the same tournament where his career had nearly ended just eight years earlier—by defeating Sergi Bruguera in the final, after Bruguera had defeated Pete Sampras in the semifinals. Muster was the runner-up at the ATP Masters Series event in Cincinnati, and reached the semifinals of the Australian Open and the ATP Masters event in Indian Wells. At both Cincinnati and the Australian Open, Muster lost to Pete Sampras in straight sets. He compiled a 29–8 win-loss record on hard courts, while slumping to 9–9 on clay.

Muster reached his last top-level tournament final in Estoril (on clay) in 1998. That year, Muster mounted one last deep run at Roland Garros, where he reached the quarterfinals, before falling to Spaniard Félix Mantilla in four sets. The Austrian opened 1999 with a strong showing at the Australian Open warm-up event in Sydney, but he struggled mightily in the next few months, eventually disappearing from the tour after an opening-round exit at Roland Garros to Nicolas Lapentti. He remains the only world no. 1 singles player of the open era who has never won a match at Wimbledon.

Muster only lost one Davis Cup singles match on clay during his career, to Goran Ivanišević in 1997. He won 29 Davis Cup singles matches on that surface and 38 overall, far more than any other Austrian.

When he stopped playing tennis in 1999, Muster moved to Noosa Australia and married television presenter Jo Beth Taylor in 2000. The couple lived on a 90-acre estate complete with helipad and had one child (Christian). They divorced in 2002. Muster then moved back to Austria, where he has served as coach of the Austrian Davis Cup team and established a brand named Toms that has included apparel, wine, and bottled water.

On 16 June 2010, Muster announced his comeback to professional tennis by playing a Challenger tournament in Braunschweig in July 2010. He lost in the first round, as well as in the following three Challenger tournaments in Kitzbühel, Como, and Rijeka. Eventually, in his fifth Challenger tournament in Ljubljana, he won the first comeback match, which brought him back into the ATP singles ranking list as number 988. Subsequently, Austrian tennis experts discussed whether his mental fortitude would be sufficient to bring him back into the top 100 in 2011, at age 43.

On 13 September 2011, Muster won his second match after his comeback in the Todi Challenger against fifth seed from Argentina, Leonardo Mayer, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. His next opponent was countryman Martin Fischer, to whom Muster lost, 0-6, 6-2, 6-7(2). He then lost in his next Challenger, in Palermo, to Italian Alessio di Mauro.

After this, Muster played at the Erste Bank Open, where he lost to countryman Dominic Thiem, 6-2, 6-3. This was the last match of the Austrian at high level tournaments ^[3], meaning that after this he will just compete in Challengers.

As he said, 2 weeks after his "high level retire", Muster was playing in a Challenger tournament again, this time in Salzburg. Despite having a good start against German Dennis Bloemke, he lost in a three set fight, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, despite saving a match point in the final set.

Equipment[link]

Muster played with Austrian manufactured Head, Kneissl and then Kneissl Tom's Reach tennis racquets during his first Pro Tour era. He continued to use Kneissl Tom's Reach on the Champions Tour. He began making a comeback to the Pro Tour using Head, then switched to Babolat and went back to Head again, always using adidas clothing.

Grand Slam and Masters Series finals[link]

Grand Slam finals[link]

Singles: 1 (1–0)[link]

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1995	French Open	Clay	Michael Chang	7–5, 6–2, 6–4

Masters Series finals[link]

Singles: 10 (8–2)[link]

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1990	Monte Carlo	Clay	Andrei Chesnokov	5–7, 3–6, 3–6
Winner	1990	Rome	Clay	Andrei Chesnokov	6–1, 6–3, 6–1
Winner	1992	Monte Carlo	Clay	Aaron Krickstein	6–3, 6–1, 6–3
Winner	1995	Monte Carlo	Clay	Boris Becker	4–6, 5–7, 6–1, 7–6(8–6), 6–0
Winner	1995	Rome	Clay	Sergi Bruguera	3–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–2, 6–3
Winner	1995	Essen	Carpet	MaliVai Washington	7–6, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4
Winner	1996	Monte Carlo	Clay	Albert Costa	6–3, 5–7, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2
Winner	1996	Rome	Clay	Richard Krajicek	6–2, 6–4, 3–6, 6–3
Winner	1997	Key Biscayne	Hard	Sergi Bruguera	7–6(8–6), 6–3, 6–1
Runner-up	1997	Cincinnati	Hard	Pete Sampras	3–6, 4–6

Career finals[link]

Singles: 55 (44–11)[link]

Outcome	No.	Date	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1.	4 August 1986	Hilversum	Clay	Jakob Hlasek	6–1, 6–3, 6–3
Winner	2.	11 July 1988	Boston	Clay	Lawson Duncan	6–2, 6–2
Winner	3.	1 August 1988	Bordeaux	Clay	Ronald Agénor	6–3, 6–3
Winner	4.	15 August 1988	Prague	Clay	Guillermo Pérez-Roldán	6–4, 5–7, 6–2
Runner-up	1.	19 September 1988	Barcelona	Clay	Kent Carlsson	3–6, 3–6, 6–3, 1–6
Winner	5.	26 September 1988	Bari	Clay	Marcelo Filippini	2–6, 6–1, 7–5
Runner-up	2.	24 October 1988	Vienna	Carpet	Horst Skoff	6–4, 3–6, 4–6, 2–6
Runner-up	3.	3 April 1989	Miami	Hard	Ivan Lendl	W/O
Winner	6.	8 January 1990	Adelaide	Hard	Jimmy Arias	3–6, 6–2, 7–5
Winner	7.	12 March 1990	Casablanca	Clay	Guillermo Pérez-Roldán	6–1, 6–7(6–8), 6–2
Runner-up	4.	30 April 1990	Monte Carlo	Clay	Andrei Chesnokov	5–7, 3–6, 3–6
Runner-up	5.	7 May 1990	Munich	Clay	Karel Nováček	4–6, 2–6
Winner	8.	21 May 1990	Rome	Clay	Andrei Chesnokov	6–1, 6–3, 6–1
Winner	9.	17 June 1991	Florence	Clay	Horst Skoff	6–2, 6–7(2–7), 6–2
Winner	10.	16 September 1991	Geneva	Clay	Horst Skoff	6–2, 6–4
Winner	11.	27 April 1992	Monte Carlo	Clay	Aaron Krickstein	6–3, 6–1, 6–3
Winner	12.	15 June 1992	Florence	Clay	Renzo Furlan	6–3, 1–6, 6–1
Winner	13.	31 August 1992	Umag	Clay	Franco Davín	6–1, 4–6, 6–4
Runner-up	6.	18 January 1993	Sydney	Hard	Pete Sampras	6–7(7–9), 1–6
Winner	14.	1 March 1993	Mexico City	Clay	Carlos Costa	6–2, 6–4
Winner	15.	14 June 1993	Florence	Clay	Jordi Burillo	6–1, 7–5
Winner	16.	21 June 1993	Genova	Clay	Magnus Gustafsson	7–6(7–3), 6–4
Winner	17.	9 August 1993	Kitzbühel	Clay	Javier Sánchez	6–3, 7–5, 6–4
Winner	18.	16 August 1993	San Marino	Clay	Renzo Furlan	7–5, 7–5
Winner	19.	30 August 1993	Umag	Clay	Alberto Berasategui	7–5, 3–6, 6–3
Winner	20.	3 October 1993	Palermo	Clay	Sergi Bruguera	7–6(7–2), 7–5
Runner-up	7.	25 October 1993	Vienna	Carpet	Goran Ivanišević	6–4, 4–6, 4–6, 6–7(3–7)
Winner	21.	28 February 1994	Mexico City	Clay	Roberto Jabali	6–3, 6–1
Winner	22.	2 May 1994	Madrid	Clay	Sergi Bruguera	6–2, 3–6, 6–4, 7–5
Winner	23.	20 June 1994	Sankt Pölten	Clay	Tomás Carbonell	4–6, 6–2, 6–4
Winner	24.	6 March 1995	Mexico City	Clay	Fernando Meligeni	7–6(7–4), 7–5
Winner	25.	10 April 1995	Estoril	Clay	Albert Costa	6–4, 6–2
Winner	26.	17 April 1995	Barcelona	Clay	Magnus Larsson	6–2, 6–1, 6–4
Winner	27.	1 May 1995	Monte Carlo	Clay	Boris Becker	4–6, 5–7, 6–1, 7–6(8–6), 6–0
Winner	28.	22 May 1995	Rome	Clay	Sergi Bruguera	3–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–2, 6–3
Winner	29.	12 June 1995	French Open	Clay	Michael Chang	7–5, 6–2, 6–4
Winner	30.	26 June 1995	Sankt Pölten	Clay	Bohdan Ulihrach	6–3, 3–6, 6–1
Winner	31.	24 July 1995	Stuttgart Outdoor	Clay	Jan Apell	6–2, 6–2
Runner-up	8.	7 August 1995	Kitzbühel	Clay	Albert Costa	6–4, 4–6, 6–7(3–7), 6–2, 4–6
Winner	32.	14 August 1995	San Marino	Clay	Andrea Gaudenzi	6–2, 6–0
Winner	33.	28 August 1995	Umag	Clay	Carlos Costa	3–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–4
Winner	34.	18 September 1995	Bucharest	Clay	Gilbert Schaller	6–4, 6–3
Runner-up	9.	23 October 1995	Vienna	Carpet	Filip Dewulf	5–7, 2–6, 6–1, 5–7
Winner	35.	30 October 1995	Essen	Carpet	MaliVai Washington	7–6(8–6), 2–6, 6–3, 6–4
Winner	36.	11 March 1996	Mexico City	Clay	Jiří Novák	7–6(7–3), 6–2
Winner	37.	15 April 1996	Estoril	Clay	Andrea Gaudenzi	7–6(7–4), 6–4
Winner	38.	22 April 1996	Barcelona	Clay	Marcelo Ríos	6–3, 4–6, 6–4, 6–1
Winner	39.	29 April 1996	Monte Carlo	Clay	Albert Costa	6–3, 5–7, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2
Winner	40.	20 May 1996	Rome	Clay	Richard Krajicek	6–2, 6–4, 3–6, 6–3
Winner	41.	22 July 1996	Stuttgart Outdoor	Clay	Yevgeny Kafelnikov	6–2, 6–2, 6–4
Winner	42.	16 September 1996	Bogotá	Clay	Nicolás Lapentti	6–7(6–8), 6–2, 6–3
Winner	43.	17 February 1997	Dubai	Hard	Goran Ivanišević	7–5, 7–6(7–3)
Winner	44.	31 March 1997	Miami	Hard	Sergi Bruguera	7–6(8–6), 6–3, 6–1
Runner-up	10.	11 August 1997	Cincinnati	Hard	Pete Sampras	3–6, 4–6
Runner-up	11.	13 April 1998	Estoril	Clay	Alberto Berasategui	6–3, 1–6, 3–6

Singles[link]

Note: These events were designated as the 'Masters Series' and the 'ATP Tour World Championships' only after the ATP took over the running of the men's tour in 1990.

Private life[link]

Thomas Muster was married to Jo Beth Taylor, an Australian television personality, from 2000 to 2005.^[4] They have a son, Christian, who was born in 2001. In 2010, Muster married Caroline Ofner and they have a daughter, Maxim, born in 2009. Thomas Muster lives in Styria, a province in Southern Austria and also has a villa on the Adriatic Sea in Croatia.^[5]

References[link]

1. ^ "Muster, King of Clay, Gets His Slam Crown". New York Times. 1995-06-12. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE1DC1139F931A25755C0A963958260. Retrieved 2011-09-22. 
2. ^ S.L. Price (1995-06-19). "Back In The Swing". Vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com. http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1006712/3/index.htm. Retrieved 2011-09-22. 
3. ^ "Former No. 1 Muster to retire again at age 44 - Tennis". CBSSports.com. 2011-09-21. http://www.cbssports.com/tennis/story/15614667/former-no-1-muster-to-retire-again-at-age-44. Retrieved 2012-05-21. 
4. ^ "Gold Coast agency Celebrities Entertainment guest speakers master of ceremonies emcees MC's Brisbane Queensland hosts coordinators stars hosting award performers Sydney Brisbane Melbourne Adelaide Perth Darwin Canberra Mt Isa". Addictiveentertainment.com.au. http://www.addictiveentertainment.com.au/celebrities.htm. Retrieved 2011-09-22. 
5. ^ "Thomas Muster heiratet heute". Oe24.at. http://www.oe24.at/leute/oesterreich/Thomas-Muster-heiratet-heute/817612. Retrieved 2011-09-22. 

External links[link]

Tennis portal

• Thomas Muster at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Thomas Muster at the International Tennis Federation
• Thomas Muster at the Davis Cup
• www.thomasmuster.at

Thomas Muster (Achievement precedessor & successor) Awards and achievements Preceded by Rudolf Nierlich Austrian Sportsman of the year 1990 Succeeded by Stephan Eberharter Preceded by Thomas Stangassinger Austrian Sportsman of the year 1995 Succeeded by Andreas Goldberger Sporting positions Preceded by Andre Agassi Pete Sampras World No. 1 February 12, 1996–February 18, 1996 March 11, 1996–April 14, 1996 Succeeded by Pete Sampras Pete Sampras

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Thomas Muster

Andre Agassi

Full name	Andre Kirk Agassi
Country	USA
Residence	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Born	(1970-04-29) April 29, 1970 (age 42) Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	80 kg (180 lb)
Turned pro	1986
Retired	September 3, 2006
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	US$31,152,975 5th All-time leader in earnings
Int. Tennis HOF	2011 (member page)
Singles
Career record	870–274 (76.05%) (on the Grand Prix tour, ATP Tour, in Grand Slams and Davis Cup)
Career titles	60 according to the ATP and 68 in total
Highest ranking	No. 1 (April 10, 1995)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	W (1995, 2000, 2001, 2003)
French Open	W (1999)
Wimbledon	W (1992)
US Open	W (1994, 1999)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	W (1990)
Olympic Games	W (1996)
Doubles
Career record	40–42 (at ATP Tour, Grand Prix tour and Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	1
Highest ranking	No. 123 (August 17, 1992)
Grand Slam Doubles results
French Open	QF (1992)
US Open	1R (1987)

Olympic medal record
Men's tennis
Competitor for  United States
Gold	1996 Atlanta	Singles

Andre Kirk Agassi ( /ˈɑːndreɪ ˈæɡəsi/; born April 29, 1970) is a retired American^[1][2] professional tennis player and former world no. 1.^[3] Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time,^{[4][5][6][7][8]} Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game.^{[6][9][10][11]} Described by the BBC upon his retirement as "perhaps the biggest worldwide star in the sport's history",^[8] Agassi's performances, along with his unorthodox apparel and attitude, have seen him cited as one of the most charismatic players in the history of the game, and credited for helping revive the popularity of tennis during the 1990s.^[6][8][12]

In singles tennis, Agassi is an eight-time Grand Slam champion who competed in 15 Grand Slam finals, and an Olympic gold medalist. A multi-surface specialist, he is the first of two male players to have achieved a singles Career Golden Slam, and one of four to have achieved a singles Career Grand Slam in the Open Era (one of seven in history).^[13][14] He was the first male player to win all four Grand Slams on three different surfaces (hard, clay and grass), and is the last American male to win the French Open (1999)^[15] and the Australian Open (2003).^[16] Agassi also won 17 ATP Masters Series titles, the 1990 ATP Tour World Championships, and was part of a winning Davis Cup team in 1990 and 1992.^[5] He is the only male singles player in history to have won all four Grand Slam tournaments, the Olympic gold medal and the ATP Tour World Championships: a distinction dubbed as a "Career Super Slam" by Sports Illustrated.^[17]

After suffering from sciatica caused by two bulging discs in his back, a spondylolisthesis (vertebral displacement) and a bone spur that interfered 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,^[18] which has raised over $60 million for at-risk children in Southern Nevada.^[19] In 2001, the Foundation opened the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas, a K-12 public charter school for at-risk children.^[20]

1970–1985: Early life[link]

Agassi was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, to Emmanuel "Mike" Aghassian and Elizabeth "Betty" Agassi (née Dudley).^[3][21] His father, a former Olympic boxer for Iran, is of Assyrian and Armenian descent and changed the family name to Agassi after his migration to the United States.^{[22][23][24][25][26]} Andre Agassi's mother, Betty, is a breast cancer survivor. He has three older siblings – Rita, Philip and Tami.^[27]

Mike Agassi reportedly banged on the fences with a hammer during Andre's matches when his son lost a point, screamed at officials and was ejected more than once.

In a passage from the book Open, Agassi details how his father made him play a match for money with football legend Jim Brown, in 1979, when Agassi was just 9 years old. Brown was at a Vegas tennis club complaining to the owner about a money match that was canceled. Agassi's father stepped in and told Brown that he could play his son and he would put up his house for the wager. Brown countered with a $10,000 bet; but after being warned by the club owner not to take the bet because he would lose and be embarrassed, Brown and Mike Agassi agreed that they'd set the amount after he and Andre played two sets. Brown lost those sets, 3–6, 3–6, declined the 10K wager, and offered to play the third for $500, which he lost 2–6.^[28]

At age 13, Andre was sent to Nick Bollettieri's Tennis Academy in Florida.^[29] He was meant to stay for only 3 months because that was all his father could afford. After thirty minutes of watching Agassi play, 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.^[30] Agassi dropped out of school in the ninth grade.^[31]

International tennis career biography[link]

1986–1993[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2011)

He turned professional at the age of 16 and competed in his first tournament at La Quinta, California. He won his first match against John Austin 6–4, 6–2, but then lost his second match to Mats Wilander 1–6, 1–6. By the end of the year, Agassi was ranked world no. 91.^[32] Agassi won his first top-level singles title in 1987 at the Sul American Open in Itaparica.^[29] He ended the year ranked world no. 25.^[29] 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),^[29] and, by December of that year, he had surpassed US$1 million in career prize money after playing in just 43 tournaments—the fastest anyone in history had reached that level.^[33] During the year, he set the open-era record for most consecutive victories by a male teenager, a record that would stand for 17 years until being broken by Rafael Nadal in 2005.^[34] 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.^[29]

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 semifinals 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 4–6, 3–6, 2–6.^[29] 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 quarterfinals 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.^[29] Along the way, Agassi overcame two former Wimbledon champions, 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 no. 1 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[link]

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 five-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.^[29]

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.^[29] 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.^[29] He compiled a career-best 26-match winning streak during the summer hard-court 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 Australian Open loss on the windy conditions, but later said in his biography that he had lost the match on purpose, as he did not want to play Boris Becker, whom he would have faced in that 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.^[29] 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.^[35] He failed an ATP drug test, but wrote a letter claiming the same friend had spiked a drink. The ATP dropped the failed drug test as a warning. In his autobiography, Agassi admitted that the letter was a lie.^[36] He quit the drug soon after. He won no top-level titles and his ranking sank to world no. 141 on November 10, 1997, prompting many to believe that his run as one of the sport's premier competitors was over and that he would never again win any significant championships.^[29]

1998–2003[link]

Agassi serving

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 pro players ranked outside the world's top 50. He also played classic matches in this period against Pete Sampras and Patrick Rafter.

In 1998, Agassi won five titles and leapt from world no. 110 to no. 6, the highest jump into the top 10 made by any player during a calendar year.^[37] At Wimbledon, he had an early loss in the second round to 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.

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, 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 and a seventh, Rafael Nadal) to have won all four Grand Slam singles titles during his career. Only Laver, Agassi, Federer, and Nadal have achieved this feat during the open era. This win also made him the first (of only three, the second being Roger Federer and the third being Rafael Nadal) male player 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 (of only two, the second being Rafael Nadal) 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.^[29] He rebounded from his Wimbledon defeat by winning the US Open, beating Todd Martin in five sets (rallying from a two sets to one 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).^[29] This was the only time Agassi ended the year at no. 1.

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.^[29] He was the first male player to have reached four consecutive Grand Slam finals since Rod Laver achieved the Grand Slam in 1969.^[38] 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.^[39]

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 at Wimbledon.^[40] 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.^[29] En route, 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^[41] with Sampras, 7–6(7), 6–7(7), 6–7(2), 6–7(5),^[42] 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 3 in three different decades^[43] (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.^[37]

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 was 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.^[37]

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 five-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 had 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.^[44] 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-end 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 5 since Connors, at age 35, was world no. 4 in 1987.^[37]

2004–2006[link]

In 2004, Agassi began the year with a five-set loss in the semifinals of the Australian Open to Marat Safin; the loss ended Agassi's 26-match winning streak at the event, a record that still stands. 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.^[37] 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. 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.^[45] 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 6–7, 2–6, 4–6. Against conventions, Agassi, the losing player, was interviewed on court after the match.^[46] At Wimbledon, Agassi announced his plans to retire following the US Open.

Agassi played only two events during the summer hard-court season, with his best result being a quarterfinal loss at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles to Fernando González of Chile 4–6, 6–3, 5–7. 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 a four-minute standing ovation from the crowd after the match and delivered a memorable retirement speech.

Earnings[link]

Agassi earned more than US$ 30 million in prize-money during his career, fifth only to Federer, Nadal, Sampras and Djokovic to date. He also earned more than US$25 million a year through endorsements during his career, fourth in all sports at the time.^[47]

In 1995, Andre Agassi signed a contract valued between $70 and $100 million with Nike (over $5 million/year), making Andre Agassi the best-paid athlete sponsored by Nike (from Andre Agassi, Through the Eyes of a Fan).

Post-retirement[link]

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 quarter-final. He played an exhibition match at Wimbledon, teaming with his wife, Steffi Graf, to play with Tim Henman and Kim Clijsters. He played World Team Tennis for the Philadelphia Freedoms in the summer of 2009^[48] 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 champion Todd Martin.^[49] On the way to the final, Agassi beat Mikael Pernfors in the quarter-finals and Wayne Ferreira in the semi-finals. He also announced that he will not be playing the tour on a full-time basis, and played the tournament as a favor to long-time friend Jim Courier.^[50]

Playing style[link]

Agassi continually put pressure on opponents with a preference to taking the ball early and was known for swinging deep angles like a powerful backhand up the line. His strength was in dictating play from the back of the court. While he was growing up, his father and Nick Bollettieri trained him in this way.^[51]

Personal and family life[link]

Agassi was married to Brooke Shields from 1997 to 1999. Agassi married Steffi Graf on October 22, 2001. Four days later, their son, Jaden Gil, was born. In October 2003, his daughter Jaz Elle was born.^[52]

Long-time trainer Gil Reyes has been called one of Agassi's closest friends; some have described him as being a "father figure" to Agassi.^[53][54]

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.^[55][56]

Agassi's autobiography, Open (written with assistance from J. R. Moehringer^[57]), was published in November 2009. In it Agassi admitted that his once distinctive bushy mane actually was a wig, and that he used and tested positive for methamphetamine in 1997.^[35][58][59] In response to the latter revelation, Roger Federer declared himself shocked and disappointed,^[60] while Sergej Bubka declared that Agassi should have been disqualified.^[61] In an exclusive interview with CBS, Agassi justified himself and asked for understanding, saying that "It was a period in my life where I needed help."^[62] He also revealed that he had always hated tennis during his career because of the constant pressure it exerted on him. He also revealed he thought Pete Sampras was "robotic".^[63] The book reached No. 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list^[64] and received favorable reviews.^[65]

Politics[link]

Agassi has donated more than $100,000 to Democratic candidates.^[66] However, on September 1, 2010, when Agassi appeared on daily WNYC public radio program "The Brian Lehrer Show," Agassi stated that he is a registered Independent.^[67]

Philanthropy[link]

Agassi 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 regularly is cited as the most charitable and socially involved player in professional tennis. It also has been claimed that he may be the most charitable athlete of his generation.^[68]

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 the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy^[69] 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 expected a 100 percent college acceptance rate.^[70] 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, 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 20-bed facility opened in December 2001, and accommodates developmentally delayed or handicapped children and children quarantined for infectious diseases.^[71]

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 aims to inspire all people to volunteer and support their communities.^{[citation needed]}

Recognition[link]

In 2005 Tennis magazine named him the 7th greatest male player—and 12th greatest player overall—for the period 1965 through 2005. On July 9, 2011, Agassi was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Newport, Rhode Island.^[5]

Records[link]

• These records were attained in Open Era of tennis.
• Records in bold indicate peer-less achievements.