3 current tennis players whose fathers were defeated by Andre Agassi ft. Ben Shelton
Andre Agassi spent roughly two decades on tour and is arguably one of the greatest players to have ever graced the tennis court.
The flamboyant American lifted eight Grand Slam titles, won an Olympic Gold medal, and held the world No. 1 ranking for 101 weeks, during his career. Andre Agassi was the first man to clinch the career Golden Slam and is the only player ever, male or female, to win a career Super Slam (all four Grand Slams, Olympic gold, Davis Cup and ATP Finals).
He went up against a plethora of opponents en route to his 1,144 matches on the ATP tour. These include encounters against a few players whose sons are currently playing on the ATP Tour.
On that note, here's a look at 3 current tennis players whose fathers were defeated by Andre Agassi:
#1. Ben Shelton
Ben Shelton's father Bryan had a modest playing career, during which, he faced Andre Agassi twice.
Shelton won their first encounter 6-4, 6-4 in the round of 64 at the 1992 Miami Open. Agassi avenged that defeat in the first round of the 1995 US Open, winning the contest 6-2, 6-2, 6-2. He went on to reach the final of the tournament before losing to Pete Sampras.
Bryan Shelton had a rather modest playing career, with his career-best singles ranking being 55. He won two ATP singles titles throughout his career.
#2 Casper Ruud
Casper Ruud's father Christian Ruud, also played tennis professionally for a decade from 1991-2001
He went up against Andre Agassi just once during his career in the quarterfinals of the now-defunct AT&T Challenge in Atlanta in 1995. The American comfortably won that encounter 6-4, 6-4 to seal a berth in the semi-finals.
While Christian was a prominent figure on the Challenger Tour, he had a rather modest career on the ATP Tour unlike his son. He reached one ATP final in his career at the 1995 Swedish Open in Bastad.
The Norwegian's best result at a Grand Slam came at the 1997 Australian Open where he reached the fourth round. Ruud was ranked as high as 39 in the men's singles rankings and notched a 115-145 W/L record while on tour.
#3. Sebastian Korda
Sebastian Korda's father Petr Korda played on tour for roughly eighteen years between 1987 and 2005. He most notably won the 1998 Australian Open and was ranked as high as No. 2 in the men's rankings.
The Czech locked horns with Agassi a total of eight times during their time tour, with Agassi comfortably leading their head-to-head 7-1. The only time Korda beat the former World No. 1 was in the second round of the 1991 Canadian Open, where he went on to reach the final.
Andre Agassi and Petr Korda locked horns in three Grand Slam matches, most notably in the quarterfinals of the 1995 US Open, where the former won 6-4, 6-2, 1-6, 7-5.
Their last meeting came in the quarterfinals of the Grand Slam Cup, with Agassi coming back from a set down to win 4-6, 6-0, 6-1.