Open

Brad suggested that it was “destiny” that Andre was the male French Open champion while Steffi won the women’s tournament. He pointed out that only Andre and Steffi had won the four Grand Slams and a Gold medal. Brad predicted that they would marry in 2001 and have their first child in 2002.

Flying to London for Wimbledon, Andre realized he would land on Steffi’s birthday and made her an ad hoc card. Touched by the handmade card, she called him two days later. When Andre answered, she identified herself as Stefanie, revealing that her mother and the press called her Steffi but she preferred her given name. When Andre clarified his feelings for her, Steffi insisted that they could not meet because she was in a relationship with a racing driver and they had been together for six years. Andre suggested that if the relationship had not moved forward in six years, it may not have a future.

Andre beat Pat Rafter in the Wimbledon semifinals and was due to face Sampras in the final. Brooke was in London and came to see Andre the morning of the match. She saw a copy of Sports Illustrated with Andre on the cover and noticed the headline Suddenly Andre and apologized, suggesting that the writer had made the article all about her. Steffi lost in the Wimbledon final after pulling a hamstring. During his match, Andre lost in straight sets to Sampras. He called Steffi as soon as it was over, but days passed and she did not respond. Finally, she got in touch, explaining that she was ill after Wimbledon and had to return to Germany. They arranged to meet after Andre’s tournament in Los Angeles.

In Los Angeles, Andre lost to Sampras in the final but was too excited to care. As he was about to leave to meet Steffi, Brooke dropped by. He admitted that he had a date with Steffi, and Brooke wished him well. At a restaurant overlooking the ocean, Andre and Steffi talked about their charitable foundations. The next day, they went to the beach. Steffi was unsurprised when Andre revealed that he hated tennis. She challenged him to a race across the beach, and he was happy to lose.

Andre and Steffi remained in contact while traveling to different tournaments. She was astonished to learn they shared the same favorite film, Shadowlands. At Montreal, Kafelnikov soundly beat Andre. Meanwhile, Steffi was injured in a Los Angeles tournament. They arranged to meet in New York before the US Open. Steffi planned to go to Germany and end her relationship with her boyfriend. She also revealed that she was retiring from tennis. Andre wondered if he too had reached this stage. However, a week later, he beat Kafelnikov in the final at Washington, DC.

Andre and Steffi stayed at a farmhouse, where they hiked, explored the area, and watched movies. At the US Open, Andre beat Kafelnikov in the semifinals, and cameras spotted Steffi in the crowd. In the final, Andre faced Todd Martin since Sampras had pulled out of the tournament with a back injury. Andre won the first set, but Martin won the second and third. Determined not to let this disadvantage affect his game, Andre won the match.

Andre took Steffi to Vegas, and she stayed with him for a month. When he told Steffi he wanted to have children with her, she left her birth control pills in his shaving kit.

By the end of 1999, Andre ranked number one in the world. His winning the Paris Open and the French Open successively had made history. At the ATP World Tour Championship, he lost to Sampras. However, at the 2000 Australian Open, Andre defeated Sampras in the semifinals and beat Kafelnikov in the final, winning his sixth Slam.

Steffi moved in with Andre, and her father, Peter, visited. A tennis-obsessed soccer player, Peter had introduced Steffi to the sport when she was three and managed her career. When they introduced him to Mike Agassi, Peter asked to see the dragon. Mike made Andre demonstrate how the machine worked. When he missed a ball, Peter asserted that Andre lacked the “famous Stefanie Slice” (325). Irate, Mike insisted that Steffi should have used the two-handed backhand he taught Andre. The argument grew more heated, and Peter claimed he could have beaten Mike in the boxing ring. He took off his shirt, and the men circled each other with their fists raised until Andre intervened.

Andre lost in the early rounds at Scottsdale, Atlanta, and Rome and pulled a hamstring. He resolved to select tournaments carefully instead of trying to play them all. He entered the 2000 French Open but lost in the second round. While he played at Wimbledon, Steffi enjoyed exploring London without the pressure of competitive tennis. In the semifinals, Andre faced Rafter, who won in five sets.

When Andre’s mother and his sister Tami both learned they had breast cancer, Andre dropped out of the Sydney Olympic team to be with his family. Tami was about to have chemotherapy and asked Andre to proactively shave her head. Meanwhile, his mother handled her treatment calmly and urged Andre to return to tennis. Andre was the number-one seed at the US Open but had no motivation to win. In the second round, his game fell apart, and he lost. Sportswriters predicted the imminent end of his career.

In January 2001, Andre refocused and won the Australian Open, marking his seventh Grand Slam. He then beat Sampras in the Indian Wells final. Afterward, Sampras revealed that he was marrying actress Bridgette Wilson. He laughed when Andre claimed he was “allergic” to actresses. Andre wished he could talk more intimately with Sampras but accepted that they would never be close. In a TV interview, Andre gave the answers expected of him, claiming he had loved tennis since he was a young boy. Afterward, he regretted missing an opportunity for honesty and promised himself to one day tell the truth.

Steffi discovered she was pregnant. She and Andre celebrated by going out to eat and decided to get married when they had a free day. Afterward, Andre realized that they had celebrated in the restaurant where his split with Brooke began. When they learned they were having a son, Andre and Steffi decided on the name Jaden and the middle name Gil. Andre told Gil he hoped their son took after him.

At the 2001 French Open, the presence of Steffi and their unborn child in the box energized Andre. When he lost in the quarterfinals, reporters asked if he was distracted by Bill Clinton’s arrival. Andre was unaware that the President was even there. At Wimbledon, Andre was close to winning a five-set match against Rafter when he missed an easy shot. The lineswoman reported him for swearing, and the umpire gave him a warning. Fixated on the lineswoman’s actions, he lost the match. He was disappointed, but his mind was filled with thoughts of Steffi, their baby, and his academy, which was due to open soon.

In the US Open, Andre played well, motivated by raising money for his school. He faced Sampras in the quarterfinals. Sampras was off-form and considering retirement but nevertheless won the match. Andre felt at peace with the result.

In October 2001, Andre and Steffi married at their house. Only their mothers and a judge were present, and Steffi and Andre went barefoot, wearing jeans.

Jaden was born a few weeks after the Andre Agassi Academy opened. The first time Steffi left Andre alone with Jaden, he sat his son on the bathroom counter as he shaved his head. Noticing that Jaden’s hair looked untidy, Andre tried to trim it but used the wrong shaving attachment, leaving his son with a bald head. Steffi was horrified but saw the funny side.

Andre won the Tennis Masters Series against Rafter, but a wrist injury forced him to withdraw from the 2002 Australian Open. Brad suggested that Andre hire a new coach to remotivate him for the last years of his career. Darren Cahill, Lleyton Hewitt’s former coach, took on the role.

Andre was a few days away from his 32nd birthday when he entered the Key Biscayne tournament. He was struck by the youth of promising new players like Andy Roddick and Roger Federer. Andre beat Federer in the final, achieving his 51st tournament victory.

Darren persuaded Andre to try playing with new racket strings. Many of the best new players used elastic polyester strings to create a topspin that transformed their play. Using the strings Darren recommended, Andre won the Italian Open. However, at Wimbledon, the new strings worked to his disadvantage on grass courts. He lost his first match, and Sampras experienced the same fate. Darren experimented with a combination of strings, and Andre won the Mercedes-Benz Cup. However, he lost his next two tournaments to younger players. At the 2002 US Open, Andre defeated Hewitt (that year’s Wimbledon champion) in the semifinals. In the final, he faced Sampras, who defeated him in four sets.

Andre, who once saw a valet fetch Sampras’s car, bet that Sampras tipped the valet at least $10, while Brad guessed $5. The valet revealed that Sampras gave him $1.

Andre had started keeping a journal for Jaden to read in the future. He woke and remembered he was in Shanghai, China. If he won, he would be the world’s oldest number-one player at year’s end, breaking Connors’s record. When he lost the Shanghai match, Andre was tempted to go home. However, he forced himself to stay and play a consolation match. Hewitt was the number-one ranked player at the end of the year.

After Gil devised a new training regimen for Andre, he won the 2003 Australian Open in straight sets, achieving his eighth Slam. Newspapers reported he was the oldest player in 31 years to win a Grand Slam and again questioned him about retirement. Courier had recently retired, and Chang had announced his intention to do so. Andre became the oldest number-one-ranked player in history when he won the Key Biscayne tournament and the US men’s clay court Championships in Houston.

Andre had a shoulder injury as he entered the 2003 French Open. In the second round, on a court where he had experienced devastating losses, he played 19-year-old Mario Ancic. Andre defeated Ancic in five sets, but it was a close and grueling match. Before the quarterfinal, Andre’s opponent, Guillermo Coria, stated that Andre was his idol. When Andre lost the match, overwhelmed by Coria’s speed, he also lost his number-one ranking. He entered Wimbledon, but Mark Philippoussis beat him in the fourth round. In pain and too exhausted to continue, Andre was relieved to lose.

At the 2003 US Open, Sampras announced his retirement. He was emotional during his press conference, and Andre felt moved and suddenly lonely. He realized he was the last of his generation of American Grand Slam winners to still be playing. Andre reached the semifinal, but his young opponent, Juan Carlos Ferrero, easily beat him. However, his disappointment disappeared when he saw Steffi, who was eight months pregnant with their second child.

Andre and Steffi’s daughter, Jaz, was born in October 2003. At the 2004 Australian Open, Andre was sleep-deprived, while the other players looked rested. When he lost in the semifinals to Marat Safin, Andre wondered if this was the end of his career. Gil advised Andre to rest more and save himself for the major tournaments. However, at the French Open, Andre was under-practiced and lost in the first round to a player ranked 271st. He withdrew from Wimbledon, and Gil advised him to consider retirement.

Meanwhile, Steffi was voted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Anxious about the awards ceremony, she asked Andre to introduce her at the event. In his speech, Andre introduced her as “the greatest person I have ever known” (355).

Andre won the ATP final, beating Roddick and then Hewitt. Reporters were skeptical when he declared that he had a chance to win the US Open. Steffi was understanding of the demands of tennis even though this meant that much of the childcare would fall to her. She always had a hot meal waiting for Andre after a match. In the quarterfinals of the US Open, Andre faced number-one seed Federer, who won in five sets. Andre predicted that Federer would be the greatest player ever. When sportswriters asked why Andre hadn’t retired, he said he continued to play to support his family and his charitable foundation, for which he had raised $40 million. Furthermore, he still believed he could win.

At the 2005 Australian Open, Andre reached the fourth round and was interviewed by Jim Courier, now a TV commentator. Andre regretted his old resentment of Courier, which in retrospect seemed childish. When Courier asked about his son, Andre lied, saying he hoped Jaden would love tennis as much as he did. In reality, both he and Steffi hoped that neither of their children would play tennis. Afterward, Andre felt ashamed at having extended his dishonesty to his son. He had his third cortisone shot of the year for the quarterfinals. However, Federer beat him easily.

Shortly after his 35th birthday, Andre traveled to Rome for the Italian Open. He won the first four matches and received a standing ovation from the crowd. At the press conference, reporters again asked him about retirement.

The 2005 French Open marked Andre’s 58th Slam—the most any player had entered in the Open Era. However, the effects of the cortisone shot on his back had worn off. Despite taking eight Advil pills before his first-round match, he lost. Andre pulled out of Wimbledon, and Gil designed a training regimen to build his core strength while protecting him from injury. After Andre won the Mercedes-Benz Cup, Jaden ran onto the court during the trophy ceremony. At Montreal, newcomer Rafael Nadal beat Andre in the final.

Andre entered the 2005 US Open for the 20th year in a row. After his fourth cortisone shot of the year, he won the first round easily. In the second round, he faced Ivo Karlovic, who was 6’10”. Andre beat him in three sets, taking advantage of Karlovic’s difficulty in reaching low balls. In the third round, he defeated promising 18-year-old Tomas Berdych. In his next match, against Xavier Matisse, Andre exploited his opponent’s relatively weak backhand, winning in five sets. In the semifinals, Andre was fatigued. He played aggressively to avoid running around and defeated Robby Ginepri in five sets. In the final, Federer beat Andre in three sets. During the post-match press conference, Andre declared that Federer’s game had no weaknesses.

Andre pulled out of the clay season to prepare for Wimbledon 2006, deciding it would be his farewell to the tournament. He announced the forthcoming US Open would be his last tournament, telling reporters that his body would not allow him to play anymore. Sportswriters and commentators reflected on Andre’s transformation over his career. However, he felt that he had not changed but simply discovered who he really was. Nadal knocked Andre out of Wimbledon in the third round. Ordinarily, only the winning player was interviewed on the court immediately after the match. However, Wimbledon officials broke this convention and interviewed Andre as well.

Andre’s family and friends traveled to New York to watch him in the US Open. He won the first round despite severe back pain and had a cortisone shot before his second-round match against Marcos Baghdatis. After Andre’s victory, both players held hands as they watched the match highlights and awaited medical treatment. At the same time, Andre relived his life in his mind.

The next morning, Andre’s father begged him to quit the tournament, saying he could not bear to see his son suffer any longer. However, Andre refused to give in. In the third round, Benjamin Becker beat him in four sets. After the match, Andre thanked his fans for their support as he received a standing ovation.

A year later, Andre’s Academy had 500 students. Most pupils were African American and from low-income backgrounds. The school was designed to be inspirational, with corridors featuring pictures of Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela. Famous people, such as President Clinton, Muhammad Ali, and Elton John, often dropped in to talk to students. One of the students stopped Andre and told him that since his father was murdered a year ago, the school had given him purpose and hope.

Andre and Steffi rented the center court at the local public tennis facilities. Since neither had played for a while, they were rusty but soon loosened up and played competitively. It started raining, but they continued, and a crowd gathered to watch. Steffi gestured that it was time to stop, but Andre called her back to “play just a little while longer” (385).