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Andre Kirk Agassi (; born April 29, 1970) is an American retired professional tennis player and former World No. 1, who was one of the game's most dominant players from the early 1990s to the mid-2000s.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Bio:Andre Agassi )〕 Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time,〔("Stars pay tribute to Agassi" ). BBC. Retrieved May 15, 2010.〕 Agassi had been called the greatest service returner in the history of the game.〔〔("Reed's shotmakers: Men's return of serve" ). Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved May 15, 2010.〕〔("Adjectives Tangled in the Net" ). ''The New York Times''. Retrieved May 15, 2010.〕〔("Sampras, Agassi Have Just Begun to Fight" ) ''Los Angeles Times''. Retrieved15, 2010.〕 Described by the BBC upon his retirement as "perhaps the biggest worldwide star in the sport's history",〔 Agassi compiled performances that, along with his unorthodox apparel and attitude, saw him cited as one of the most charismatic players in the history of the game. As a result, he is credited for helping to revive the popularity of tennis during the 1990s.〔〔 In singles tennis, Agassi is an eight-time Grand Slam champion and a 1996 Olympic gold medalist, as well as finishing runner-up in seven other Grand Slam tournaments. During the Open Era, Agassi is the first male player to win 4 Australian Open titles and those were an Open Era record until Novak Djokovic won his 5th title on 1 February 2015. Agassi is one of five male singles players to achieve the Career Grand Slam in the Open Era and one of seven in history,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Nadal Completes Career Grand Slam With US Open Title )〕 the first of two to achieve the Career Golden Grand Slam (Career Grand Slam and Olympic Gold Medal), and the only man to win the Career Golden Grand Slam and the ATP Tour World Championships (won in 1990): a distinction dubbed as a "Career Super Grand Slam" by ''Sports Illustrated''.〔 Agassi was the first male player to win all four Grand Slam tournaments on three different surfaces (hard, clay and grass), and the last American male to win the French Open, in 1999〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Singles winners from 1925 to 2005 )〕 and the Australian Open (2003).〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Australian Open – Past Men's Singles Champions )〕 He also won 17 ATP Masters Series titles and was part of a winning Davis Cup team in 1990, 1992 and 1995.〔 Agassi reached the World No. 1 ranking for the first time in 1995 but was troubled by personal issues during the mid-to-late 1990s and sank to World No. 141 in 1997, prompting many to believe that his career was over.〔 Agassi returned to World No. 1 in 1999 and enjoyed the most successful run of his career over the next four years. During his 20-plus year tour career, Agassi was known by the nickname "The Punisher".〔Jhabvala, Nick. ("Tale of the Tape" ). ''Sports Illustrated''. November 2, 2009. Retrieved July 21, 2012.〕〔Mehrotra, Abhishek. ("Agassi: Last of the great Americans" ). ''ESPN Star''. Retrieved July 21, 2012.〕〔("Nickometer: Popular nicknames in the world of sport" ). MSN Sport. May 3, 2012. Retrieved July 21, 2012.〕〔Calvert, Sean. ("Australian Open Betting: The best finals ever" ). Betfair. January 10, 2011. Retrieved July 21, 2012.〕 After suffering from sciatica caused by two bulging discs in his back, a spondylolisthesis (vertebral displacement) and a bone spur that interfered with the nerve, Agassi retired from professional tennis on September 3, 2006, after losing in the third round of the US Open to Benjamin Becker. He is the founder of the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation, which has raised over $60 million for at-risk children in Southern Nevada.〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=ATP Tour, Inc. )〕 In 2001, the Foundation opened the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas, a K-12 public charter school for at-risk children. He has been married to fellow tennis player Steffi Graf since 2001. ==1970–1985: Early life== Andre Agassi was born in Las Vegas, Nevada to Emmanuel "Mike" Agassi and Elizabeth "Betty" Agassi (née Dudley).〔 His father, a former Olympic boxer for Iran, stated he is from a mixed, mostly Armenian, heritage. He later elaborated that his grandfather was Assyrian.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The man behind Andre )〕 However, in an October 2004 Inside Tennis interview, he stated "My great great great great grandfather was 'Syrian'". He married an Armenian woman. Their son married an Armenian. Their son married an Armenian. Their son married an Armenian. My father married an Armenian." 〔 Andre Agassi's mother, Betty, is a breast cancer survivor. He has three older siblings – Rita (last wife to Pancho Gonzales), Philip and Tami.〔 〕 One of his ancestors changed his surname from Agassian to Agassi to avoid persecution. In a passage from the book ''Open'', Agassi details how his father made him play a match for money with football legend Jim Brown, in 1979, when Agassi was 9 years old. Brown was at a Vegas tennis club complaining to the owner about a money match that was canceled. Agassi's father stepped in and told Brown that he could play his son and he would put up his house for the wager. Brown countered with a $10,000 bet, but after he was warned by the club owner not to take the bet because he would lose and be embarrassed, Brown agreed with Mike Agassi that they would set the amount after he and Andre played two sets. Brown lost those sets, 3–6, 3–6, declined the 10K wager, and offered to play the third set for $500. He lost 2–6. At age 13, Andre was sent to Nick Bollettieri's Tennis Academy in Florida. He was meant to stay for only 3 months because that was all his father could afford. After thirty minutes of watching Agassi play, Bollettieri called Mike and said: "Take your check back. He's here for free," claiming that Agassi had more natural talent than anyone else he had seen. Agassi dropped out of school in the ninth grade. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Andre Agassi」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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