"It gave my father a chance to get closer to the gold than he ever got"- When Andre Agassi commented on winning the singles event at the 1996 Olympics
Andre Agassi's only participation in the Olympics - back in 1996 in Altanta - turned out to be a very successful one.
Agassi was seeded first in the men's singles event. He reached the gold medal match following wins over Jonas Bjorkman, Karol Kucera, Andre Gaudenzi, Wayne Ferreira, and Leander Paes.
Here, he beat two-time French Open champion Sergi Bruguera 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 to claim the gold medal. His win ensured that both the singles champions in the Americans were from the United States, with Lindsay Davenport having triumphed at the women's singles event.
Agassi claimed that winning the Olympic gold was his greatest-ever accomplishment in tennis.
"It's the greatest accomplishment I've ever had in this sport; to win a Grand Slam is the biggest thing you can accomplish inside your sport, but the Olympics is the biggest thing you can do in all of sports," Andre Agassi said.
Andre Agassi's father, Emmanuel Mike Aghassian, was also an Olympian who represented Iran in boxing in 1948 and 1952. But he was eliminated in the first round each time. He was present in Atlanta to see his son win the gold medal.
Agassi claimed that celebrating his victory with his father gave the latter a chance to get closer to the gold medal than he ever got.
"It gave him a chance to get closer to the gold than he ever got," he said.
Agassi also claimed that the emotion of representing his country at the Olympics helped him dig deeper than he would have.
"Certainly, the emotion of playing for your country helped me dig deeper than I might have if it wasn't the Olympics. I was going to leave everything I had out there; that's the kind of intensity that makes guys want to get off the court after the first 25 minutes of the match," Agassi added.
Andre Agassi is the only American man to win an Olympic singles gold in tennis
Andre Agassi remains the only American male player to win an Olympic singles gold.
Since his triumph, the closest a man from the United States came to winning the coveted prize was Mardy Fish in 2004. He could only claim the silver medal, losing to Nicolas Massu in the final.
James Blake came close to the podium in 2008 but lost 6-3, 7-6 (4), to Novak Djokovic in the bronze medal fixture.
American women have fared much better in the Olympics compared to their male counterparts. After Lindsay Davenport's triumph in Atlanta, Venus Williams won the gold in Sydney in 2000, with Monica Seles claiming bronze.
Her sister Serena Williams won the women's singles event 12 years later in London by thrashing Maria Sharapova in the final.