Andre Agassi life and biography

Andre Kirk Agassi is a retired American professional tennis player and former World No. 1. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game.

A stellar athlete, Agassi first burst on the tennis scene in 1986. He turned heads and raised eyebrows with his wild hair and bright clothing. But it was his impressive serve that really wowed tennis fans. It took him several years, however, to live up to his potential on the court. He won his first Grand Slam title in 1992 at Wimbledon. After his Wimbledon win, Agassi had several more Grand Slam victories in the early 1990s. He took the top spot at the U.S. Open in 1994. He was victorious at the Australian Open in 1995. He stood at the top of rankings in 1995.

After a depressing career slump in 1997, the once rebellious Agassi got serious and rededicated himself to the game. He trained hard and made an impressive comeback. In 1999, he won the French Open and the U.S. Open. He continued his winning ways at the Australian Open in 2000, 2001, and 2003. Admired by fans and competitors alike, Agassi retired on September 4, 2006, after his last match at the U.S. Open, which he lost to Benjamin Becker. At the end of the match, Agassi said an emotional good-bye to the game and to the roughly 23,000 people who had packed the stadium to see him play for the last time.

In his post-professional life, Agassi continues with his philanthropic work. He created the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation in 1994, which provides at-risk children in southern Nevada with educational opportunities and recreational activities. He plans on devoting more time to family. Agassi has been married to fellow tennis great Steffi Graf since 2001, and the couple has two children. He was previously married to actress Brooke Shields from 1997 to 1999.

In two decades of tennis, U.S. player Andre Agassi went from being the young rebel with glam-rock hair to the grand "old man" with a head as smooth as a clay court -- and one of the greatest players in the game's history. He began playing professionally in 1986, and by 1988 had won more than $2 million in prize money. Throughout the 1990s, men's tennis was dominated by the back-and-forth rivalry of Agassi and Pete Sampras. Agassi's flashy clothes, stylish hair and bad-boy attitude were the perfect counterpoint to Sampras's steady, clean-cut power game. In his career Agassi won more than 850 singles matches, including 60 titles, 8 Grand Slams and an Olympic Gold Medal (Atlanta, 1996). In later years Agassi shaved his head and became a more sober and beloved figure in tennis, still ranking highly after 20 years in the game. In 2005 he made it to the finals of the U.S. Open at age 35 (he lost to Roger Federer). Plagued by back problems, he retired after losing in the third round the 2006 US Open. He surprised fans by admitting, in his 2009 autobiography, that he had used the drug crystal meth in 1997 and had lied to hide his use from tennis officials.

Personal:

Agassi was married to actress Brooke Shields from 1997-99... He married tennis great Steffi Graf in 2001, and they have two children... Agassi's sister was married to tennis pro Pancho Gonzales... Agassi's father, Emmanuel "Mike" Agassi, was an Olympic boxer for Iran in 1948 and 1952 before emigrating to Chicago.

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