"I refer to that summer as a summer of revenge" - When Andre Agassi opened up on the impact Boris Becker's insult had on him
Former American professional Andre Agassi once opened up on how Boris Becker's insult impacted him after the latter beat the former in the 1995 Wimbledon semifinal.
Agassi and Becker were among two of the most recognizable faces in tennis during the 1980s and 1990s. They had a rivalry that saw them meet in five Grand Slam semifinals and one quarterfinal. It made for some spectacular matches, although it was a little skewed in favor of the American.
The two played in the semifinals of the 1995 Wimbledon Championships, where Agassi was the favorite as the World No. 1. However, the German put in a spectacular effort and grabbed the match away from Agassi, only to lose the final to Pete Sampras.
After the match, Becker insulted the former World No.1 saying he was elitist and tournament directors were giving him a special tournament. He also said that Agassi was unable to win on a windy outside court.
In "Open: The Andre Agassi Interview," Agassi recalled the entire feud with Becker, saying it left a "real mark" on him and that he transformed those emotions into "anger" in the summer of 1995.
"I found myself being pained by tennis in many many ways," Agassi ssid, adding, "One of the ways came at Wimbledon in 1995 when I lost to Boris Becker and afterwards he went in the press room and talked about what people really think of me, says players don't like him. He's made all these personal kind of comments and it left a real mark on me. It hit me in a place that was just personal and it reminded me of all the how meaningless all of this felt and I turned that emotion into anger in the summer of 1995."
He went on to say that he referred to that summer as "the summer of revenge," and that he didn't enjoy the motivation he was using to move further into the tournament, where he beat Boris Becker in the semifinals but lost to Sampras in the final.
"I refer to that summer as a summer of revenge and as I worked through that summer I'm beating everybody and beating everybody all the while not liking and not respecting myself for the motivation I was actually using. I get to the semifinals of US Open play Becker again we have this you know heated grudge match that is I think a kind of a well told story ,and I get to the finals against Pete and I had nothing left and I went 26 only to lose the Pete," Andre Agassi said.
"Not even something I want to do, and even when I was winning I didn't like the the feelings I had going through. It it just I just didn't want anything to do with this," he added.
"She showed a little weakness" - Andre Agassi on impressing his wife Steffi Graf
Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, both tennis legends, tied the knot 21 years ago. Graf gave birth to their first child, Jaden Gil, on October 26, 2001, and their daughter Jaz Elle was born two years later. Agassi and Graf are still happily married, living in Las Vegas, and doing a lot of work for charity.
Agassi recalled in the same interview how he impressed the 22-time Grand Slam winner by making her a birthday card on the plane, saying:
"I made her birthday a card on the plane because I was landing on the same day where I did Wimbledon and she came over and congratulated me for Paris. She said she had some tears on my win and I said likewise with her then you know she just she showed a little weakness."