Agassi’s Slam amazes experts

Spencer Patterson

Tuesday, June 8, 1999 | 9:18 a.m.

Top 5

The latest ATP world tennis rankings, in which Las Vegas' Andre Agassi climbed 10 places to No. 4 with his French Open victory:

1. Yevgeny Kafelnikov (Rus) 3403 points

2. Patrick Rafter (Aus) 3315

3. Pete Sampras (U.S.) 3300

4. Andre Agassi (U.S.) 2993

5. Richard Krajicek (Neth) 2856

Bjorn Borg never did it. Neither did John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Jimmy Connors or even Pete Sampras.

Yet on Sunday, Las Vegas' own Andre Agassi joined some very exclusive company as one of only five men to win all four Grand Slam tennis tournaments in a career.

The others to accomplish the feat? Fred Perry and Don Budge way back in the 1930s and Rod Laver and Roy Emerson in the 1960s.

Since then several players, including Borg and Sampras, have come close, needing just one title to complete their career slam. But where those before him came up short, Agassi got the job done on Sunday, besting Andrei Medvedev in a five-set French Open final.

"Frankly, I didn't see it coming," said Las Vegan George MacCall, a U.S. Davis Cup captain in the 1960s who saw or played against Budge, Laver and Emerson during his heyday. "I think everybody hoped it would come, but they thought Sampras might be the one to do it."

Sampras certainly has the more impressive career credentials, having won 11 career Grand Slam singles titles (second all-time), compared to just four for Agassi.

But with Agassi's fabulous foursome coming on three different surfaces -- grass, hardcourt and clay -- the Las Vegas native has permanently secured a significant spot in the sport's history books.

"I've played on all three surfaces, and they're all very different," UNLV tennis coach Larry Easley said. "To do well on all the surfaces is one thing, but to do it at the end of your career, when people are counting you out, is another thing."

Easley also pointed out that Agassi's accomplishment is even more impressive considering it came in an age of specialization, in which certain players tailor their game for success on one particular surface.

"To beat people whose games are designed for these surfaces is remarkable," Easley said. "(Agassi) grew up on a hardcourt so he's able to volley, and that rounded out his game more than most clay court players would."

Certainly, Agassi's game is most suited for the hardcourts of the U.S. Open and Australian Open, tournaments he won in 1994 and '95, respectively. That surface provides the truest bounces, along with a tempo perfect for Agassi's baseline-oriented style.

Clay, the surface for Sunday's French Open championship, is by far the slowest surface on tour, with its high bounces giving players ample time to track down shots. That often makes for grueling five-set marathons in a survival-of-the-fittest setting.

"The physical condition he was in was amazing," MacCall said. "He looked like he could keep going and going."

But it's Agassi's win on grass in 1992's Wimbledon final that Easley said still is the most stunning of the 29-year-old's career. The fast surface has dashed many a player's dream to win all four Grand Slam titles, most notably Lendl, whose baseline game never added up to Wimbledon success.

"It's a quicker game because the ball stays lower, and the footing is probably the worst of the three surfaces," Easley said.

"(Agassi's) win at Wimbledon will always be the hardest for me to figure out."