Andre Agassi's journey from No. 140 to No. 1 was the most interesting time in my coaching career: Brad Gilbert
After missing the first three Grand Slam tournaments in 1997, Andre Agassi lost in the fourth round of the US Open. He soon found himself in the 140th position in the ATP rankings. The American player's unbelievable journey back to the top was the "most interesting time" of his coach Brad Gilbert's career.
In the first round of the 1997 Stuttgart Masters, Agassi faced a straight-sets defeat (6-4, 6-4) against compatriot Todd Martin. This was when self-doubts crept in for the icon who asked Gilbert if he was past his sell-by date. Without mincing his words, the coach told Agassi that he was out of shape and not putting in the required effort to be a top player.
Speaking on the Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast recently, Gilbert narrated the entire episode and disclosed that it took around 18 months for the former World No. 1 to return to his best.
"Probably the most interesting time in my coaching career happened in 1997 in Stuttgart, Germany," Gilbert said. "Andre just played a horrendous match and got his a** kicked by Todd Martin. He got smoked. So I were up in his room and he asked me if the game has passed him by."
"I said, 'Andre, the game hasn't passed you by. If you put in a three-cent effort, you get a three-cent result. You're cheating yourself by getting out of shape and not putting in the effort that you can get out of this game. If you devote yourself to the game, if you get fit and you start over, it will probably take you 12 months to get back to where you want to be and fulfill all your dreams. You just have to put in a 100% effort'," he said.
"He kind of looked at me and that was it. He took about a month off and it took 18 months for him to get back to the top," he added.
Agassi was the World No. 140 in October 1997 and after working extremely hard for about two years, he was back at No. 1 in July 1999.
"Andre Agassi had a photographic memory" - Brad Gilbert
Speaking on the Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast, former player and coach Brad Gilbert pointed out the difference between his pupils Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick.
"Andre and me could talk sometimes three hours the night before the match about strategy, tactics. Andre had a photographic memory," Gilbert said. With Roddick, he was a lot like Mission Impossible - 'This message will implode in 10 seconds'."
Six of Andre Agassi's eight Grand Slam titles came under Gilbert's watch.