Andre Agassi has certainly gone down as of the more controversial figures in the history of tennis, along with one of the best.
The American has been heavily involved in the sport since retiring, with Agassi the new Team World Laver Cup captain.
Team World will be looking to get back to winning ways in 2025, with McEnroe believing Agassi will impress in his role.
Agassi will be under pressure right from the start, with his side set to play host in San Francisco after their recent loss in Berlin.
He certainly knows all about European talent, with Agassi fighting hard against German Michael Stich for his first US Open title back in 1994.
The American was roared on by the home supporters in New York, with Agassi winning 6-1, 7-6(7-5), 7-5 for his second Grand Slam title overall.
Asked about his feelings towards the victor after only just losing to him, Stich told reporters at the 1994 US Open: “I like him. I don’t know him too well, but I like him.
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“If you were to be standing out there next to him, he was just like a little kid. I mean, just like, you know, didn’t know what to say, didn’t know what to think.
“He was just so happy, and I just think he is a nice guy. He wasn’t able to cope with all the things people brought up to him, and everybody was trying to make his image, companies, television, people, ATP, players, whatever, and I think the image he has is not the person he is.
“And that is all about it. I think to get rid of that is a very, very difficult thing for a young man, and he seems to be able to do it now a little bit better.”
It was, of course, the first of many Grand Slam titles for Agassi, who ended his career with eight such triumphs across all four competitions.
He enjoyed most success at the Australian Open with four titles, followed by the US Open with two and the French Open and Wimbledon with one each.
Agassi also reached the summit of the ATP rankings, and was denied further Grand Slam success with seven final defeats.
READ MORE: Andre Agassi once described how John McEnroe and Boris Becker behaved behind the scenes in the locker room
He did, however, manage a superb feat with his 1999 French Open win, which resulted in the American becoming the first man to complete a Career Grand Slam across three different surfaces in the Open Era.
Asked in that same 1994 US Open press conference if the Career Grand Slam was possible, with Pete Sampras having come close, Agassi replied: “You know, I can’t answer that. I feel like there is a lot of room to me to step up now and start playing even better tennis.
“But there is a lot of great players out there, so I mean, to say anybody, even Pete winning a Grand Slam, I mean, quite honestly, I didn’t believe it, you know, until if he would have won the French then I would have said now with grass and hard court coming up, but it is not an easy thing to do.”
A total of seven men have won a Career Grand Slam, which involves winning each of the four major championships during a player’s career.
Player | Tournament won to complete Career Grand Slam |
Fred Perry | 1935 French Championships |
Don Budge | 1938 French Championships |
Rod Laver | 1962 U.S. Championships |
Roy Emerson | 1964 Wimbledon |
Andre Agassi | 1999 French Open |
Roger Federer | 2009 French Open |
Rafael Nadal | 2010 US Open |
Novak Djokovic | 2016 French Open |
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