"We never said 'I love you' ; we do those things now" - When Andre Agassi made emotional admission about changing relationship with his father
Andre Agassi's relationship with his father, Emmanuel 'Mike' Agassi, was anything but simple, and the American tennis icon once opened up about their changing dynamics. Andre and Mike were not used to expressing love for each other initially, but things changed over time.
Mike, an Iranian-born former boxer, introduced Andre to tennis at an early age. Andre's early years were marked by rigorous training and high expectations, leading to a deep-seated aversion to the sport.
He was sent to Nick Bollettieri's academy at the age of 13, away from his family. This negatively affected him and his relationship with his father. Andre, however, continued to grind and made a name for himself in the sport. Although the relationship with his father remained strained for a long time, a moment at the 2006 US Open changed something.
His back was killing him, and he was playing through the pain. That’s when his dad, usually so tough, pulled him aside and said he couldn’t take watching the suffering anymore.
"I see in his eyes, for the first time, that he actually hates tennis," Andre remembered in an interview with SPIEGEL in 2009. "He actually resents what it's taken, what he's watched me go through, how he's lived and died with every point."
Andre came to understand his father in a way he never had before.
"He’s not a man of psychology," he said. "He's a man of discipline and work, tremendous loyalty and generosity."
In Agassi’s memoir, 'Open,' he writes about trying to hug his father, and instead of responding, Mike stood there, frozen. Physical affection wasn’t something that existed between them.
"We did not do these kinds of things. We never touched each other, and we never said "I love you." Today, we do all these things," Andre Agassi added.
It was a strong reflection of just how far their relationship had evolved.
When Andre Agassi revealed his father Mike did not believe there was anything for him to be sorry about
In the same 2009 interview with SPIEGEL, Andre Agassi was asked whether his father ever said 'sorry' to him for all that had happened between them as Andre was growing up. The American tennis icon said that his father, Mike, did not feel there was anything to be sorry for.
"He doesn't feel like there is anything to be sorry for; he's proud because everything he did helped make me a champion. There is real pride -- 'You're damn right, and I'd do it again,'" he said.
Agassi rose to prominence in the late 1980s. He won his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 1992 and went on to capture eight major titles in total. He claimed 60 ATP singles titles during his career and was ranked World No. 1 for over 100 weeks.
After retiring in 2006, he focused on philanthropy and family life with his wife Steffi Graf. In September 2021, Mike, who pushed Andre into tennis from a young age, passed away.