"You’ll feel things you’ve never felt before"- When Andre Agassi's coach Brad Gilbert vowed to shave his body if the American won US Open 1994
Andre Agassi once revealed that his then-coach Brad Gilbert vowed to shave his body if the American won the US Open in 1994.
Agassi wasn't having a particularly memorable 1994, as he suffered a second-round exit at the French Open before losing in the fourth round of Wimbledon.
The American was ranked 20th in the world by the time the US Open was around the corner and was unseeded at the tournament. He wrote in his book that his coach at the time Brad Gilbert wanted him to be unseeded and to be the "joker in the deck". Agassi claimed that Gilbert was so sure of him winning the tournament that he vowed to shave his body if that happened.
The then-24-year-old said that he told his coach he would feel things he had never felt before on shaving his chest.
"Going into the 1994 U.S. Open, I’m number twenty, therefore unseeded. No unseeded player has won the U.S. Open since the 1960s. Brad likes it. He says he wants me unseeded. He wants me to be the joker in the deck. You’ll play someone tough in the early rounds, he says, and if you beat them, you’ll win this tournament," Andre Agassi wrote.
"He’s sure of it. So sure, he vows to shave his entire body when I do. I’m always telling Brad he’s too hairy. He makes Sasquatch look like Kojak. He needs to trim that chest, those arms—and those eyebrows. Either trim them or name them. Trust me, I tell him, you shave that chest and you’ll feel things you’ve never felt before," he added.
Andre Agassi eventually went on to win the 1994 US Open. The American reached the title clash with wins over Robert Eriksson, Guy Forget, Wayne Ferreira, Michael Chang, Thomas Muster, and Todd Martin.
Agassi faced fourth seed Michael Stich in the final and beat him 6-1, 7-6(5), 7-5 to win his maiden US Open title and second Grand Slam singles title.
Andre Agassi made 21 successive appearances at the US Open
Andre Agassi made 21 consecutive appearances at the US Open throughout his career, which is a tournament record. The New York Major is the only Grand Slam he never missed throughout his career since making his debut.
Agassi won 79 out of 98 singles matches at the US Open, winning it in 1994 and 1999. He also reached an additional four finals in 1990, 1995, 2002 and 2005, ending up on the losing side on each occasion.
Agassi's last appearance at the US Open came in 2006 which was also his career's swansong. He reached the third round of the tournament before being beaten by Benjamin Becker.