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Roger Federer: Andre Agassi has revealed his thoughts on Federer's possible retirement (Image: GETTY)
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Agassi won eight Grand Slam titles between 1992 and 2003, but was forced to retire at the age of 36, one year younger than Roger Federer is now.
However, Agassi, another former world No 1, has claimed that Federer shouldn’t retire simply because of his age - he should go when he feels he can no longer win.
“I had no choice. Everybody has a different journey at this stage in their life, but for me my body told me it was finished,” Agassi told Radio Deejay.
“When it comes to Federer he has accomplished so many wonderful things on behalf of our sport and himself - that he deserves to go on his own terms, in a certain place, in a certain time, when he feels he cannot win.”
Agassi retired after the 2006 US Open, having struggled with injury problems throughout.
The American’s last Grand Slam final was in the same tournament of the previous year, in which he lost 3-2 in sets to Federer.
The 48-year-old has urged his former opponent to carry on playing until he no longer can, and he believes it cannot be predicted when a player will call it a day.
Roger Federer failed to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open last month (Image: GETTY)
“It’s different for everybody.
I stopped predicting Federer many years ago," Agassi added.
Federer himself has been open about his plans for the future, and claims that he has never considered retirement.
"I think that at my age, people are well aware that if I can do something extraordinary,” Federer said in December.
Roger Federer and Andre Agassi played each other 11 times professionally (Image: GETTY)
I honestly do not think about retirement
Roger Federer
“I hope that once again this will be the beginning of a great season for me, just like the last two years which have been damn good for me.
"I have an idea of what my schedule will be in 2019. Although I'm not totally sure what will happen this spring with grass, dirt, hard. Discussions with my staff continue.
“Then we'll see if there will be a 2020 season or not. But for now, I honestly do not think about retirement.”
Saturday, 4th March 2023
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Andre Agassi
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Summary
Andre Agassi, in full Andre Kirk Agassi, (born April 29, 1970, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.
S.), American professional tennis player who won eight Grand Slam titles as well as the “career Grand Slam” for winning each of the four major tennis tournaments—Wimbledon, the Australian Open, the French Open, and the U.S. Open—at least once.
By age 2 he could serve a tennis ball on a full court. At 13 he was sent to a tennis academy in Bradenton, Florida, run by Nick Bolletieri, who later became his coach. In 1987 Agassi won his first professional tournament. With six tournament wins in 1988, the shaggy-haired right-hander with the powerful forehand began attracting attention. Agassi’s charisma, flashy on-court wardrobe, and good looks made him a media sensation, and the tagline of one of the products he endorsed—“Image is everything”—came to stand as shorthand for the perception of Agassi among some tennis fans. He further annoyed tennis traditionalists by refusing to play at Wimbledon because of the event’s dress code and the grass surfaces of its courts.
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Agassi managed to reach three Grand Slam finals between 1990 and 1991 but lost each time (including a defeat at the hands of his rival Pete Sampras at the 1990 U.
S. Open), leaving some to question whether he had the tenacity to win a big match. In 1992 he quieted his doubters when he triumphed over Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia at Wimbledon (he had ended his boycott of the tournament the previous year) to take his first Grand Slam title. In 1994, after being dropped by Bolletieri—who questioned Agassi’s dedication to the sport—and falling out of the top 30 in the rankings, he returned with a new coach, Brad Gilbert, and a new, more focused game. He entered the 1994 U.S. Open unseeded; when he won there, it was the first time that an unseeded player had taken the tournament since 1966. Agassi, sporting a shaved head, claimed his third Grand Slam title in 1995 by beating Sampras in the Australian Open final in Agassi’s first participation in that event.
A gold medal in the men’s singles event at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, marked Agassi’s only notable victory in 1996. In 1997 Agassi made headlines with his marriage to actress Brooke Shields, though his tennis continued to suffer because of a recurring wrist injury, and he saw his ranking plummet to 141.
The disappointing losses continued through 1998 and early 1999, but they—along with a widely publicized split with Shields in April 1999—failed to shake Agassi’s focus on a comeback as he slowly worked his way back into a top 10 world ranking.
In 1999 Agassi won the French Open to become the fifth men’s player in history to win all four Grand Slam events, and the first to do it on three different surfaces. A title at the U.S. Open in September confirmed that he was back in top form, and he returned to the number one ranking at the end of 1999. Agassi won a second Australian Open in 2000 and a third in 2001. Later that year, he married fellow tennis star Steffi Graf. After recurring wrist problems limited his 2002 season, he captured his fourth Australian Open championship in 2003. He made a surprise run for the 2005 U.S. Open final (a four-set loss to Roger Federer) and retained a top 10 ranking through early 2006, but mounting injuries and advancing age led to his retirement after the 2006 U.
S. Open. However, he remained involved in the sport, and from 2017 to 2018 he coached Novak Djokovic of Serbia. In 2011 Agassi was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Agassi also was notable for the charitable ventures he undertook, including the founding of the Andre Agassi Foundation (1994) to aid at-risk children. In 2001 he opened the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, a tuition-free charter school based in Las Vegas that is open to disadvantaged children. His autobiography, Open, was published in 2009.
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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.
Therefore, in our biographical article, we will try to focus the most attention on the personal life of the athlete, as well as on unknown moments from his past. After moving to the USA, the father of our today's hero made a successful career as a boxer, however, despite this, he always cherished a special love for tennis in his soul. The thing is that even as a child, Emmanuel often watched how American and British soldiers played tennis in the courtyard of the Christian mission.
Andre Agassi in his youth
Subsequently, noticing a local boy at the fence, one of the soldiers gave the guy his first tennis racket. Many years have passed since then. Emmanuel moved from Iran to the United States, where he started a family, and also built a small clay tennis court near his house.
Despite the fact that Emmanuel made a successful career in the field of boxing, he always taught his four children only to play tennis. Playing with the guys, the famous Iranian-American athlete hoped that each of them would make a successful career on the tennis courts in the future. However, only one of Emmanuel's children, Andre's youngest son, had a chance to become famous in the world of tennis. In early childhood, the future tennis player spent a huge amount of time on the court. Together with his father, he often went to various junior tournaments, where already at the age of ten he achieved quite significant results. In particular, in 1980, Andre Agassi became the finalist of the US Championship in his age group. A year later, he reached the semi-final stage.
In order to help him make a successful career in the world of sports, Emmanuel sent his son to the tennis academy, Nick Bollettieri, who was a longtime friend of the boxer. For the sake of continuing his career, Andre had to move to Florida, but as it turned out, it was worth it.
For several years of study at a prestigious tennis academy, our today's hero has greatly improved his professional skills, and therefore, at the age of fourteen, he managed to win his first US champion title in his age group.
Subsequently, our today's hero managed to take revenge on the eminent Swede more than once. Led by his coach Nick Bollettieri, Agassi quickly grew and progressed. And therefore, at one fine moment, he became a real star on the tennis courts.
Andre Agassi & Steffi Graf - "Son" Playing Tennis
Throughout his career, the talented American tennis player has remained one of the best representatives in his sport. For many years of performances, he managed to win more than sixty different tournaments, reaching the highest results in both singles and doubles.
He has had eight Grand Slam titles in his career, as well as a myriad of other trophies. In addition, Andre Agassi became the first of two tennis players (along with Rafael Nadal) who managed to win not only all four leading tennis trophies, but also the gold medal of the Olympic Games. In the nineties and early 2000s, our today's hero was a real legend in the world of tennis. As part of the US national team, Andre Agassi won the Davis Cup twice. For his outstanding achievements in 2011, the athlete was included in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Thus, the son of an emigrant from Iran became a national hero of the United States, as well as a role model for many tennis fans.
Andre Agassi vs ball girl
In 2003, Andre Agassi became the oldest tennis player to top the WTA rankings. In total, during his career, the talented athlete spent 101 weeks as the first racket of the world. In addition, for 16 seasons, our today's hero was among the ten strongest players on the planet.
This indicator became the basis for Andre's inclusion in the Guinness Book of Records. André Agassi, Steffi Graf and their child
In the late 2000s, the name Andre Agassi appeared in seventh place in the ranking of the most financially successful athletes of our time. During his career, he earned, according to various estimates, from 200 to 500 million dollars. A significant part of these funds brought the tennis player advertising contracts with brands such as American Express, Adidas, Nike and some others. In addition, Andre earned a substantial amount of money for the rights to publish his own biography.
Andre Agassi is currently the co-owner of a commercial empire that includes a chain of sports and nightclubs, as well as companies engaged in restaurant, construction, real estate and restaurant business.
Among other things, Andre Agassi is known as a philanthropist.
However, Andre Agassi's relationship with the German tennis player Steffi Graf became the longest and happiest. Their romance began at the end of 1999, and subsequently spilled over into a long and strong marriage. The couple currently live in Las Vegas, where they have two children together.
Komsomolskaya Pravda
Sports LOOK WHO LEFT
September 5, 2006 1:00
After losing in the third round of the US Open, the great tennis player ended his sports career
Andre: - Oh, am I a pensioner?! Who will set an example for young people now? Photo: AP
A bald, puny little man on thin legs named Andre Agassi did not in any way pull on the role of a tennis hero.
He did not have the article of Marat Safin (195 cm / 88 kg), nor the cannon feed of Andy Roddick (239.7 km / h), but he managed to do what his athletic colleagues could not do. Namely, to win all four Grand Slam tournaments, plus the Olympics to boot.
According to this indicator, none of the representatives of the strong half of humanity can now compete with Agassi. Only his own wife, Steffi Graf, turned out to be cooler. She managed to win the US Open, the Australian Championship, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and become the Olympic champion of Seoul-88.
Experts say that Agassi was a genius - by nature he had a special tennis gift. However, Agassi won his last Grand Slam tournament - the Australian Open - three years ago at the age of 34. This season, Andre decided to retire from the sport and announced that his last tournament would be the US Open. Many expected that in the end Agassi would slam the door loudly, although the champion already occupied a rather modest 39th place in the ATP rankings.
However, the great tennis player was not destined to leave undefeated. Agassi injured his back and actually played on injections. In the first round, he managed to pass the Romanian Pavel, then persuade the Cypriot Baghdatis to surrender. The superstar's next opponent was the little-known German Benjamin Becker. And although Agassi played hard, the fans did not consider the sausage a particularly dangerous threat to their idol. Ahead in the next round loomed more formidable opponent - the current leader of the US team Andy Roddick. However, the battle of two generations did not work out. Tormented by injuries, Agassi lost to Becker - 5:7, 7:6 (7:4), 6:4, 7:5. And after the match, he could not hold back his tears. The audience gave their idol a farewell ovation.
However, for the Russians this day was painted in more optimistic colors. The loser of the current season, Marat Safin, managed to knock out fourth-seeded Argentinean David Nalbandyan from the tournament - 6:3, 7:5, 2:6, 3:6, 7:6 (8:6).
The last fifth set was dramatic, when, with the score 5:1 in favor of Safin, the Russian became nervous and brought the matter to a tie-break. However, having driven himself into a corner, Safin showed miracles of endurance and composure. Now the Belgian Olivier Rochus stood in the way of Marat.
All Grand Slam winners
Roy Emerson (Australia) Donald Budge (USA) Rod Laver (Australia) Fred Pary (England) Andre Agassi (USA)
Agassi's landmark wins 19027 1994 US Open. 1995 Australian Open. 1996 Atlanta Olympics. 1999 Roland Garros, US Open. 2000 Australian Open. 2001 Australian Open. 2003 Australian Open.
WHICH OF THE STARS IS COOLER?
Agassi
(37 years old)
Samps
(35 years)Federer
(25 years old)* 9000
1
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