This year, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the US Open, we’re counting down the 50 most memorable moments in the history of America’s Grand Slam. Today, we take a look back at No. 36.
Ever confounding, always a nonconformist, unpredictable to his core, Andre Agassi reached the semifinals of the US Open in 1988 when he was only 18. The clear favorite two years later when he met Pete Sampras in the final, Agassi was upended by his compatriot in straight sets. In those early years of the '90s, Agassi was seen as a perennial contender.
Not so in 1994. The charismatic American had wrist surgery at the end of 1993, and, when he returned in March of 1994, his game was understandably not always up to his highest standards. He came into the US Open unseeded. But the great ground-stroker from Las Vegas liked nothing more than achieving large feats against the odds.
Agassi did just that. Over the fortnight in New York, he knocked out no fewer than five seeded players, starting with No. 12 Wayne Ferreira, then-No. 6 Michael Chang, followed by No. 13 Thomas Muster and on to No. 9 Todd Martin.
That string of victories propelled Agassi into a final-round duel with Germany’s Michael Stich, the 1991 Wimbledon champion who will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in July. Stich never had a chance to impose his serve-and-volley style against the game’s most fearsome returner. Agassi romped, 6-1, 7-6, 7-5.
The first set was over in a flash, lasting a mere 24 minutes. Although the No. 4 seed Stich made it much more competitive in the last two sets, he could not contain the American from the back of the court. Across his last 13 service games, Agassi conceded only 13 points.
Not since Fred Stolle in 1966 had an unseeded man or woman come through to win the U.S. Championships/US Open. But, then again, Agassi was not a typical unseeded competitor. There was nothing typical about him at all. One of a kind, Agassi turned that tournament upside down, enjoying every moment of a memorable journey.
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