Andre Agassi has always been a great front-runner, a less-than great come-from-behind player. That's been true of several of the tennis giants, and the main reason they get away with it is that they just don't have to come from behind very often.
In the 1999 French Open, Andre had to dig himself out of serious holes four times.
In the second round, he played a Frenchman named Arnaud Clement. The weather was hot, the clay was dry, the balls were (comparatively) light. Perfect conditions for Andre. So he wins the first set easily, 6-2, and he's absolutely rolling, playing like a genius.
Now he's up a service break in the second, and he's making it look so effortless, moving Clement left, right, left, right, that the crowd is almost laughing. Then Andre jokes with the crowd, and actually gets them laughing.
And then, somehow, it was as if somebody had thrown a light switch. The next thing you know, Andre's game started going down, down, down, and Clement's game started going up, up, up. Andre was up 4-2 in the second set, and wound up losing four games in a row. The match is all even, and I'm sitting there thinking, "What the hell happened?"
Brad Gilbert is widely recognized as one of the top coaching minds, as well as one of the most direct and insightful television commentators in tennis. As a coach Brad has worked with numerous elite pro players including Grand Slam champions Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, and Andy Murray. Ranked in the world top 5 in his playing career, Brad had wins over legendary champions including Boris Becker and John McEnroe and won 20 ATP titles. Brad is also the owner of Tennis Nation, one of the top tennis pro shops in the country for the true enthusiast, located in San Rafael, California.
Brad Gilbert: Winning Ugly
Brad Gilbert, now working with Coco Gough, has previously guided Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick to Grand Slam titles. He did it with his unique style that can teach the rest of us about giving the extra mile.
Brad Gilbert's Winning Ugly is one of the most highly regarded and valuable tennis books ever written. Covering the strategic and mental realities of competitive play from the tour to the club level, Winning Ugly is packed with Brad's original insights about how matches are really won, and strategies any player can apply to dramatically improve their match results. A classic, must read for all tennis players, Winning Ugly is now available as an ebook, an audio book, as well as in the second print edition with a new forward by Andy Murray.
