Andre Agassi: Tennis icon’s incredible rise to world No 1 debut – 30 years on
Andre Agassi remains one of the most iconic and influential tennis players in history – and this week marks 30 years since one of his greatest accomplishments.
April 10 will mark exactly three decades since the American rose to world No 1 for the first time, cementing his place in the record books after a stunning rise to the top.
Here, we reflect on how Agassi surged to the very top of the sport.
Rapid rise
By the summer of 1994, Agassi was established as one of the biggest stars in the sport – and was already a Grand Slam champion.
After defeats in the 1990 and 1991 French Open final, and 1990 US Open final, the American had finally claimed a first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 1992, beating Goran Ivanisevic in a five-set epic.
Agassi had reached a career-high of world No 3 earlier in his career, but a difficult 1993 and 1994 campaign saw him slip down the rankings ahead of the 1994 US Open.
Despite victory at the Canadian Open earlier in the summer, the 24-year-old was still down at 20th in the rankings – not high enough to be seeded at any major at the time.
However, that did not stop him from claiming a first US Open – and second Grand Slam – title.
Agassi beat sixth seed Michael Chang in the fourth round, 13th seed Thomas Muster in the last eight, and ninth seed Todd Martin in the last four to reach his fifth Grand Slam final.
The American faced fourth seed and fellow Wimbledon winner Michael Stich in the final, but the German was no match for Agassi – who stormed to a 6-1, 7-6(5), 7-5 triumph.
Victory on home turf propelled Agassi back inside the top 10 of the ATP Rankings, and he then went on a significant tear to end the season.
Titles in Vienna – again beating Stich – and Paris came Agassi’s way by the end of 1994, and he would finish the season at a new high of world No 2.
He was among the Australian Open favourites at the start of 1995 and, thanks to a four-set triumph over top seed Pete Sampras, claimed a second straight major triumph with victory in Melbourne.
It was Agassi’s first-ever appearance Down Under, and victory on his tournament debut propelled him close to world No 1 Sampras in the rankings.
Victory for Sampras over Agassi in the Indian Wells held off his rival temporarily, but Agassi then moved within touching distance after beating his greatest rival to lift the Miami Open title.
Ultimately, Agassi would not win the world No 1 ranking on court.
With Sampras withdrawing from events in Osaka and Tokyo after the ‘Sunshine Double’, the points he dropped there proved enough for Agassi to rise to No 1 on April 10, 1995.
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No 1 reign
After rising to world No 1 for the first time, the eight-time Grand Slam champion would spend 30 weeks at the top before being replaced by Sampras in November 1995.
Agassi would briefly reclaim the No 1 ranking for two weeks in January and February 1996, though he then slipped dramatically down the ranking over the next two years.
Struggles on and off the court saw the American fall outside of the top 100 at one stage, though a stunning resurgence in 1999 helped him reclaim his position at the top of the sport.
Agassi completed the Career Grand Slam with victory at the 1999 French Open and, despite losing the Wimbledon final to Sampras, took the world No 1 back off his compatriot for three weeks.
After a summer battle with Sampras and Pat Rafter, which saw the top ranking change hands multiple times, Agassi’s 1999 US Open triumph saw him cement his place at the top.
A sixth Grand Slam title at the 2000 Australian Open helped him reign at No 1 for exactly 52 weeks until September 2000, and he would then reign for further spells of two weeks and 12 weeks in 2003.
Agassi’s final day as world No 1 came on September 7, 2003 – his 101st and final week as the world’s best player.
To this day, Agassi remains one of just nine men to spend over 100 weeks as the world No 1.
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