"I wasn’t trying to deliberately disrespect him, I just didn’t care about him"- When Jimmy Connors opened up about not applauding Andre Agassi
Tennis legend Jimmy Connors revealed in his memoir that he did not stand up and applaud Andre Agassi when he entered the locker room after the final match of his career.
Agassi called it quits on his illustrious career in 2006, with that year's US Open being his swansong. He reached the third round of the tournament following hard-fought wins over Andrei Pavel and eighth-seed Marcos Baghdatis, before losing 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-5 to German qualifier Benjamin Becker.
Jimmy Connors, who never had the best of relationships with Andre Agassi, wrote in his memoir "The Outsider" that he was present at Flushing Meadows when Agassi played the final match of his career. Connors further said that everyone other than himself stood up for Agassi when he entered the locker room.
Connors clarified, however, that not applauding his compatriot wasn't meant to be an act of disrespect; it was more about the fact that he just didn't care about him.
"I was there at Flushing Meadows in 2006, coaching Andy Roddick, on the day of Agassi’s last match, when Benjamin Becker ousted him in the third round. Agassi walked into the locker room and everyone stood clapping. Not me, not my style. I wasn’t trying to deliberately disrespect him; I just didn’t care about him, and he didn’t affect my life in any way," Connors wrote.
"At the 1988 Open, even Donald Trump couldn’t get a ticket to sit in one of the boxes, so Gerry Goldberg invited him into mine to watch my quarterfinal against Agassi. After the second set, it was pretty clear who was going to win. Trump got up, left, and reappeared seconds later in Agassi’s box. I guess he knew where the cameras would be," he added.
Andre Agassi won both of his matches against Jimmy Connors
Andre Agassi and Jimmy Connors locked horns just twice, and that too during the period when Connors was in the twilight of his career. The first meeting between the two came in the quarterfinals of the 1988 US Open, with fourth-seeded Agassi beating sixth-seeded Connors 6-2, 7-6, 6-1.
Their second and final encounter came in the last eight of the following year's US Open. Agassi, who was seeded sixth, started the match strongly and won the opening set 6-1. However, the 13th-seeded Connors bounced back and won the next two sets 6-4, 6-0 to take the lead in the match.
Andre Agassi then claimed the next two sets 6-3, 6-4 to win the match and book his place in the semifinals.