Graf and Agassi at Wimbledon in 2009 (Getty Images)
Andre Agassi celebrated his 50th birthday recently
Former World No.1 Andre Agassi recalled some memories of his first-ever meeting with Australian star Lleyton Hewitt.
In a video posted by the Australian Open Twitter page, retired American tennis professional Agassi could be seen talking about his debut encounter with Hewitt, a former World No.1 himself.
The pair met for the first time during the 1998 Next Generation Adelaide International semi-final clash. In the video, Agassi spoke about a funny incident where Hewitt was seen holding up his pants with a safety pin in the locker room en route to their semi-final match.
“I remember playing Lleyton in front of his home crowd when he was like 15 years old, in the semi-finals, on my way back from a 140 in the world, trying to make it back to number one,” Agassi recalled.
“And I remember seeing him holding up his pants in the locker room, with a safety pin because he was so little. He was so – I was like it’s impossible I’m going to lose to this guy,” the American said.
Agassi was at that time trying to make a comeback to the top. However, he suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of a 16-year-old Hewitt, who beat him 7-6, 7-6 to advance into the finals.
Hewitt, meanwhile, reacted to the post saying that it was always a pleasure to face Agassi on the court.
The two-time Grand Slam winner retweeted the post shared by the Australian Open account with a caption: Haha… it was the start of some great battles. Always a pleasure taking the court with you @AndreAgassi”.
50-year-old Agassi is one of the living legends the game of tennis has produced, winning eight Grand Slam titles and a gold medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, USA.
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