To tennis aficionados who watched him closely for his 20-year-career, Agassi was appreciated for being as great a ball-striker as tennis had ever seen.

But no one captured more of the spotlight-for better or worse-than Agassi. As such, and as his peers Courier, Michael Chang and Pete Sampras will also tell you, with the American tennis boom having crested by the early ’80s, it wasn’t easy trying to be an American tennis champion in the post-boom ‘90s. There he was, swimming in a sea of waves, counter-waves and even counter-counter waves of armchair psychology and sociology, laden also with dialogue around marketing, advertising and public relations. No tennis player will ever likely more occupy the fishbowl of exposure and analysis Agassi was thrown into while still a teenager. Agassi, though, made his mark in the era of the lavish probe, of writers and producers feasting at the chance to tell yet another tale of this sweet, thoughtful and often confused young man, constantly on a public path towards reinvention. In today’s social-media era, athletes largely control their narrative, dispensing dollops of the tale, one post at a time. “He’s really kind of puppyish,” his lifelong rival Jim Courier said in a 1995 Sports Illustrated article. And Agassi, far more lover than fighter, struggled mightily to master both the craft of professional tennis and the weight of expectation. In the flash of an eye, a promising teen had become tennis’ next big star, the heir to Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe. In 1988, the year he turned 18, he rocketed up the ranks to No.

That Agassi’s tennis life played out so publicly might explain why he now largely favors privacy. In many other cases, for smaller tournaments, his presence single-handedly made the difference between profit and loss.īut data and box office appeal only take you so far. For most of his career, Agassi was the sport’s most popular player, adding considerable crossover wattage to any event he entered. So brilliantly did Agassi wield his racquet, and wear his clothes, that he captivated the casual tennis fan in ways few ever had or will. In the spirit of many of tennis’ all-time greats, Agassi took the game to new levels of skill, propelled with laser-like proficiency by what remains arguably the greatest forehand-backhand combo in the sport's history. History will note Agassi’s career Grand Slam, eight majors, sparkling 30-6 Davis Cup record, Olympic gold, 101 weeks ranked No. Will there ever be a more scrutinized tennis player than Andre Agassi? His 50th birthday today is a moment to take stock of a life and legacy that have been epic as it gets, filled with rollercoasters and rivalries, coaches and corporations, controversy and achievement.

Andre agassi 1989