From 1994 to 2002, the brilliant coaching partnership between Andre Agassi and Brad Gilbert transformed their careers. Agassi hailed Gilbert as the “greatest coach of all time.” Gilbert described their intense collaboration as a “marriage,” full of inevitable ups and downs. Despite a dip in 1997, their synergy powered Agassi to six of his eight Grand Slam titles and multiple No. 1 rankings. Gilbert’s strategic smarts, detailed in Winning Ugly, were key to Agassi’s remarkable comeback. Even now, the ex-coach recalls his best night alongside the American legend!
Agassi’s ex-coach has talked a lot about the 1999 French Open. It was Agassi’s fourth Major win, but also his first in over four years. He’d struggled with injuries and personal issues that dropped his ranking as low as No. 141 in 1997. Speaking to Tennis Channel, Gilbert revealed how memorable that tournament was. He said, “I felt like I did my greatest coaching ever just to get Andre to come out and come back. Literally, we hadn’t hit a ball for six days; he’d been hurt. And I felt like that was my best coaching, just to get him to go there, and then the way he had to battle through five matches at the tournament.” It was just that good!
It was also Agassi’s first French Open win. He’d lost finals to Andres Gomez and Jim Courier in 1990 and 1991, so a Major win on clay seemed like it would always elude him. But seeded 13th, Agassi fought his way to the final, where he faced Ukrainian Andrei Medvedev. Agassi was blown away in the first two sets, losing 1-6, 2-6. Then a rain break gave him a chance to pull himself together, and he stormed back to a historic win.
How did they celebrate? Well, as Brad put it, “we had a blowout that night-that was a night for the ages. We threw down quite a few cocktails and had a legendary night with some legendary players in Paris. It was a fun night, to say the least.” Sounds like a dream, right?
And add on the dynamic they shared as coach and player? That spoke for itself. Under Brad Gilbert’s coaching from 1994 to 2002, Andre Agassi secured six of his eight career Grand Slam singles titles. These victories included the Australian Open (1995, 2000, 2001, 2003), the French Open (1999), and the US Open (1994, 1999).
In 2019, Andre Agassi was invited to honor Gilbert at the coach’s induction into the Northern California Tennis Hall of Fame. He was effusive in his praise: “The first time we got to No. 1 together, it was a great journey, but I did have a lot of demons. [Brad Gilbert] believed in me and his faith covered the belief, the desire, the hope and the prayers that somehow despite not having chosen my life, I could take ownership of it again. And we did.”
However, while they shared smiles, there were certainly rough waters for this team as well.
Gilbert opens up about the most painful moment being Agassi’s coach
Speaking on the Fail Better with David Duchovny podcast last year, Brad Gilbert recalled one of his toughest coaching moments- the 1995 US Open final where Pete Sampras beat Andre Agassi 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5. He said, “I mean, but I can give you a few of them that just jump out right away. When I was coaching Andre – two brutal ones, the ’95 US Open – he had won 26 consecutive matches, had the most amazing summer, and then goes out and just he was a little bit flat in that morning, you know, playing Pete Sampras in the finals of the ’95 Open. I could tell – lost that match seven, five and a fourth. I felt like someone had taken a knife and stabbed me. Then, one other one.”
That ’95 US Open was their “Summer of Revenge.” Agassi had four titles and a 26-match winning streak. But on final day morning, he woke with torn cartilage under his ribs, just nine hours before facing Sampras. The injury crushed him, and the loss shattered his fighting spirit-not just for a year but for years after. Though he kept his World No. 1 ranking, the 26-year-old couldn’t hide his pain.
In his autobiography Open, Agassi wrote, “I’m 26-1, and I’d give up all those wins for this one. All that work and anger and winning and training and hoping and sweating, and it leads to the same empty disappointed feeling. No matter how much you win, if you’re not the last one to win, you’re a loser. And in the end I always lose, because there is always Pete. As always, Pete.”
Gilbert also remembered another painful moment- the 2001 US Open quarterfinal against Sampras. “Andre at that moment was the better player,” he said, but Sampras’s form was better. “Once again, Pete played an unbelievable match. No breaks the entire match and it came to the smallest margins. I just felt like if he, after that one, I was just gutted as I ever was in any match. I just felt heartbroken for Andre, and it came down to a few points and I still think about that match. It’s like you know, it still gets me.”
Despite the heartbreak, these battles defined their fierce rivalry and deep bond. Now, with Agassi retired and Gilbert coaching rising star Coco Gauff, those tough memories remain a powerful reminder of the passion behind every victory and defeat.
The post “Quite a Few Cocktails and…,” Andre Agassi’s Legendary ’99 French Open Victory Made Quite Some Noise With Former Coach Brad Gilbert appeared first on EssentiallySports.
