When Andre Agassi First Became No. 1 In The World
by Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
It was on April 10, 1995 when Andre Agassi first became the No. 1 ranked player in the world. Agassi burst onto the scene in pro tennis in 1988 when he ascended to No. 3 in the world, buoyed by tournament titles and reaching the semifinals of both the U.S. Open and the French Open. While he received an enormous amount of attention from fans, media and corporations, he failed to win a major singles title until his breakthrough win at Wimbledon in 1992. He next won the U.S. Open – as an unseeded player none-the-less – in 1994 before first assuming the top notch on the ATP Tour rankings shortly after winning the modern-day Miami Open in 1995.
The following is how Agassi’s ascent to No. 1 is documented in the book “On This Day in Tennis History” which is for sale and download here: https://a.co/d/0gmclqbr
April 10, 1995 – Andre Agassi becomes the No. 1 player in the world for the first time, replacing Pete Sampras, the world’s No. 1 for the previous 82 weeks. Agassi becomes the 12th player in the 22-year history of the men’s computer rankings to hold the top spot. Agassi positions himself to move up from No. 2 after defeating Sampras in the final of the Lipton Championships on March 26. Says Agassi of his rivalry with Sampras, “The intensity against Pete is above and beyond anything I can feel with anybody at this time,” he says after winning the Lipton. “This is a great stage for tennis. It’s important for me to be the best that I can and I believe that is number one. Taking over number one won’t have the impact that it is going to have a few years from now when I look back and know that I have maintained it.”
Agassi holds the No. 1 ranking for a total of 101 weeks, relinquishing the top spot back to Sampras later in 1995, but returning again in 1999 after an inspiring comeback when he dropped to No. 141 in the world. At age 33, he again returned to No. 1 in 2003.
