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"Every parent has a dream for his child. The child is going to be the president, or the best doctor or lawyer. I thought my four kids were going to be world tennis champions. You know it's never going to happen, but it's a dream. It makes it easy to go on court and work with a kid." Mike Agassi, 1986.
The story of Andre's life begins with the dream his father had, a dream that would one day be fulfilled, and more, by his youngest son, Andre Agassi.
Emanuel Agassian was born in Armenia (what was then Persia) in 1932. Six months later he moved to Iran when he spent his formative years. 'Manny' became an accomplished boxer but it was his fascination with tennis that was to shape his life. One day, while walking down a back street in his hometown, Manny watched his first game of tennis being played in an American Mission church yard. He was befriended by the American GI's playing and taught the rudiments of the game by them in exchange for his acting as ball-boy and tending to the dirt courts. Little did he know how all-consuming his passion for the sport was to become.
Mike was destined to become an accomplished boxer and visited England for the first time as a seventeen year old, representing his country in the Olympic games being held that year in London. While he was there, it's said that he made his first visit to the All England Club.
As today, Iran was then a tough place to grow up in and religious persecution was making life unbearable for his family who were wealthy timber exporters. In 1952, Manny emigrated to the US, arriving penniless but full of dreams and determination. He changed his name to Mike Agassi and settled in the industrial city of Chicago where he pursued his boxing career for a while, winning the Golden Gloves of Chicago three times between 1953 and 1956. But, it was to be fate that was to shape his future - in a bizarre way! Andre described it thus; "For his professional debut at Madison Square Garden, New York, my dad was matched against a guy with three or four fights. But, that guy got sick and they brought in an old pro who had 40 fights. My dad's manager told him it was the chance for instant recognition. Dad said 'Okay, I've just got to go to the bathroom.' He climbed out of the window, took the train home and bought a tennis racket." For all that, Mike would never lose his fighting spirit.
He decided his future was to be in tennis, so he devoted himself to finding out all there was to learn about the sport with a single-0mindedness that was almost terrifying. By working for various companies, he learnt how to lay tennis courts. He visited and worked in factories to learn about how equipment was made. He read books and watched videos about every aspect of the game. All this time, he earned money any way he could, working as a waiter for the most part.
It was at a Davis Cup Presentation dinner at the hotel he was working at that he was inspired by the tennis greats of the day assembled there, talking about their game and how talent should be nurtured from an early age. He vowed then that he would have a child who would some day make the name 'Agassi' famous wherever tennis was played.
Things began to look up for Mike. He fell in love and married Elizabeth (Betty) and between 1960 and '69 they were to have three children; first a girl, Rita. Then a boy, Phillip, followed by another girl, Tamra or Tamee as she was known.
From an early age, all were taught the game of tennis by their father. They were all good players. Rita, the eldest child, would show the most promise of the three, climbing into the world's top 100 before leaving - some would say escaping - to get married to the legendary tennis player, Pancho Gonzales. Phillip, the next oldest, played well and occasionally partnered David Pate in doubles. But, his heart was never in it, perhaps discouraged by his inability to please his father. (Later, this experience would help him get his young brother through some difficult times with his family) Tamee, the youngest of the three, developed a talent for the game and played collegiate tennis before leaving the circuit to follow another career.
The climate of southern California drew Mike, it's sun and heat better for playing tennis than the cold and wet of Chicago. After unsuccessfully trying for a job in Los Angeles, he succeeded in obtaining a position of teaching pro at the Tropicana Casino in Las Vegas. He took on a waiters job as well to eke out the low wages. He then went to Caesar's Palace - another casino - as a hotel waiter. He later moved to the MGM Grand - later to be re-named Ballys. Betty found the family a house in Las Vegas, a pleasant single story house with a large back yard in a good area of the city, a children's park nearby. Betty concentrated on making it a home for her husband and family while Mike concentrated on building a tennis court with his own hands in the back yard!
Mike was always a hard worker but his Armenian upbringing had invested in him strong family values and these two things were to lead him into years of struggle whilst he pursued his dream. He was quickly promoted to Showroom Captain at Ballys where he stayed until quite recently. He became well known among the top entertainers there, the boxers and tennis players. He gave coaching lessons and had his own re-stringing business.