Agassi was the big American dream, but an unassuming Pete Sampras was the first of the next generation to bring home a Grand Slam. The 19-year-old Sampras beat Agassi 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 in the final of the 1990 US Open to create another sensation and spark off one of the best rivalries in the sport.
Though Agassi's natural talent was never in doubt, his temperament came under the scanner. The teenager who had promised so much failed to deliver time and again. Agassi lost in three Slam finals (1990 US Open, French Open, 1991 French Open) before he found redemption at the All-England Lawn Tennis Club.
Also see: The Great Survivor
He conquered the big-serving Goran Ivanisevic 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 in an epic final, and crashed down to his knees.
A true-blue baseliner, Agassi was against the odds of Ivanisevic's potent serve and volley. Having shown the thumbs-down to Wimbledon's traditionalists for three years in a row and never proceeded past the quarter-finals of the event, it was the last Grand Slam he was expected to win.
Luke Jensen, Agassi's practice partner during that run, was later quoted saying, 'Andre just swept up one after another, boom, boom, boom." That trophy was like a baby in his hands.'
He won the 1994 US Open and beat Sampras in Melbourne in 1995 to claim his first Australian Open crown.
Everything went downhill from then. He lost to Sampras in straight sets, his personal problems had started distracting his professional life and his ranking plummeted to 141. He broke up with wife Brooke Shields, the actress, in 1997.
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