Archive for the ‘Andre Agassi’ Category
Described by the BBC upon his retirement as “perhaps the biggest worldwide star in the sport’s history”, 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. A multi-surface specialist, he is the first of two male players in history to have achieved a singles Career Golden Slam, and one of four male players to have achieved a singles Career Grand Slam in the Open Era (one of seven in history). 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. By the end of the year, Agassi was ranked world no. 91. He ended the year ranked world no.
Agassi is an eight-time Grand Slam singles champion who competed in 15 Grand Slam finals, and an Olympic gold medalist. He is the founder of the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation, which has raised over $60 million for at-risk children in Southern Nevada. Agassi was born in Las Vegas, to Emmanuel “Mike” Aghassian and Elizabeth “Betty” Agassi (née Dudley). 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.
His father is of Assyrian, Armenian and Iranian origin. 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. Agassi’s father stepped in and told Brown that he could play his son and he would put up his house for the wager. 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.