Before becoming Novak Djokovic's coach, Andre Agassi was a force on the Parisian clay.
The Setting
Andre Agassi and Andrei Medvedev, two players who had both proven their talent as teenagers, entered the 1999 French Open at different stages in their career.
Agassi, whose career nearly bottomed out at the end of 1997, had gotten off to an inconsistent start in 1999, a year removed from boosting his ranking outside the Top 100 to No. 6 in the world. By the time the French Open started, Agassi was seeded No. 13.
That was still better off than where Medvedev was. The Ukrainian, who’d reached the Top 10 as a teenager, was floundering at 25, with his ranking at No. 100.
But while Medvedev might have been in a rough spot in his career, there was no doubting his status as one of the top clay-courters in the game and he set out to prove it early on at the French Open. In the second round, Medvedev defeated Pete Sampras, and in the quarters, he topped 1997 French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten.
Agassi—who only decided to play the French at the last minute after an injury—struggled early on. In the second round, he was two points away from defeat against Arnaud Clement. Agassi rallied to win in five sets, and in the fourth round, he topped the defending champ Carlos Moya in four sets.
The key, always, is to get off to a good start. Medvedev did that—and then some.
Serving tremendously, Medvedev captured the first set 6-1 in 19 minutes. And the onslaught continued into the second set, which he took to the tune of 6-2. Agassi, long considered one of the best returners in the history of the sport, saw one of his greatest weapons neutralized as Medvedev won 100 percent of his first serve points over the first two sets.
In the third set, Agassi—prompted by his coach Brad Gilbert during a rain delay—started to go for his shots more. However, he was still unable to shake Medvedev and found himself down a break point at 4-all, but he held on, and took the set, 6-4.
In the fourth set, Agassi came out firing to take a 3-0 lead. Riding the early break in the set, the American captured the fourth, 6-3, to find himself in his second career five-set final at the French Open.
With all the momentum in his favor now, Agassi broke Medvedev early on to take a 3-2 lead. He didn’t let up, either, eventually earning two match points on Medvedev’s serve at 3-5. Medvedev stayed in, but Agassi was too much, winning it all, 1-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.
