"Who cared about Davis Cup? A guy catching a guy's serve in Davis Cup, now that was great" - When journalist Curry Kirkpatrick recalled an Andre Agassi incident from 1988
In July 1988, the US took on Argentina in the third round of the Davis Cup. Andre Agassi was up against Martin Jaite and on his way to a comfortable victory when he decided to entertain the spectators.
Leading 6-2, 6-2, 4-0, the American legend decided to lose the fifth game by catching the ball with his left hand as his opponent served at him. The match was being played in the capital city of Argentina — Buenos Aires — and the home crowd, which was impressed with Agassi so far, suddenly turned against him.
In ESPN's SportsCentury documentary series that aired in 2001, former Sports Illustrated journalist Curry Kirkpatrick suggested that it was an extremely interesting moment and that no one cared about the Davis Cup when a player was seen catching his opponent's serve.
"We wrote that we hated it, this was showmanship, but at heart, we loved it because that's all we wrote about. I mean Davis Cup, who cared about Davis Cup? A guy catching a guy's serve in Davis Cup, now that was great," Kirkpatrick said.
Former American tennis player and commentator Mary Carillo stated that while he had won over the crowd, his act of catching the ball was an insult to them.
"He was winning everybody over and he was picking apart the poor Argentine. Andre catches the ball and thinks it's this sort of magnanimous gesture, you know, fellowship and friendship and the true spirit of Davis Cup and of course, it's a deep, deep insult to these Argentines," Carillo said.
"I was trying before she knew I was trying" - Andre Agassi on how he ended up with Steffi Graf
In an old interview with former Indian player and commentator Vijay Amritraj, Andre Agassi revealed that while he had a crush on Steffi Graf in the early '90s, he never succeeded in getting in touch with her. The American then married actress Brooke Shields in 1997. However, it lasted just two years as Agassi got divorced in 1999.
Even before his divorce was final, Agassi started trying to get Graf's attention once again. This time, he succeeded.
"I was taken by Steffi back in the early 90s and futile efforts to get to meet her and talk to her then. But then we went on with our lives. I got married and spent a few short years in marriage and when I was coming out of it, you sit there and you realize so much about yourself when you live a difficult relationship and you think about what it is you want for your life," Andre Agassi said.
"So I started to think about this at that stage and it was before Steffi even really knew that I was getting a divorce. So I was trying before she knew I was trying. I was very ahead of the game," he added.