Andre Agassi won eight Major titles, the first of which came at Wimbledon in 1992.
The American star lost his first three Grand Slam finals, at the French Open to Andres Gomez and the US Open to Pete Sampras in 1990, and again at the French Open to Jim Courier one year later.
Bouncing back in 1992, Agassi wasn’t prepared to let the opportunity slip through his fingers when he qualified for the Wimbledon final.
Beating Goran Ivanisevic in five sets, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4, Agassi lifted the first of his eight Grand Slam titles.
Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images
He was, however, unable to add another Wimbledon title to his collection, returning to the final just once, coming up short in 1999.
Two semi-final losses followed in 2000 and 2001, before Agassi suffered one of the most shocking defeats of his career in the second round of Wimbledon in 2002.
Paradorn Srichaphan: The man who beat Andre Agassi at Wimbledon in 2002
Thailand’s Paradorn Srichaphan enjoyed a breakout season in 2002, kicking off the year in fine form, reaching his maiden ATP final in Chennai, India.
Losing out to Guillermo Canas in straight sets, the youngster rose to a career-high ranking of 86th.
Travelling to Wimbledon as the world number 67, expectations weren’t too high for the 23-year-old Thai when he made his fourth career visit to the All England Club.
Srichaphan had won just one match at Wimbledon across three tournaments before 2002, as he struggled to make an impression on the grass.
- 1999 Wimbledon 1R – Paradorn Srichaphan beat Guillaume Raoux, 6-2, 6-4, 7-6
- 1999 Wimbledon 2R – Paradorn Srichaphan lost to Yevgeny Kafelnikov, 7-6, 4-6, 6-7, 4-6
- 2000 Wimbledon 1R – Paradorn Srichaphan lost to Tim Henman, 7-5, 3-6, 1-6, 3-6
- 2001 Wimbledon 1R – Paradorn Srichaphan lost to Todd Martin, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6, 3-6
Battling through his 2002 Wimbledon opener in five sets, Srichaphan advanced past Jack Brasington to set up a ‘David v Goliath’ second-round tie with number three seed Agassi.
Few gave Srichaphan a chance when he stepped onto the court, taking on a former world number one.
Shocking the world, Srichaphan beat Agassi in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6, 6-2, to book his place in round three.
Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
After the match, Srichaphan admitted that he himself wasn’t expecting to beat Agassi.
“I didn’t look too much at the draw because I knew if I got through the first round, I would be playing Andre [Agassi] and that would probably be it,” he said.
“I was a little bit shaky at the start and didn’t want to serve first. But when Andre [Agassi] won the toss and asked to receive, it went well and allowed me to relax a bit more.”
Agassi was stunned by the loss but took the time to praise his opponent, who had just produced one of the tournament’s most memorable upsets.
“I am in shock. I don’t look at it as a reflection of the state of my game at the moment,” said Agassi.
“Paradorn [Srichaphan] did really well, but I should be doing better than that.”
Moving into the third round, Srichaphan’s run came to an end, as he lost to 1996 champion Richard Krajicek in straight sets.
There was, however, more to come from Srichaphan, as he returned to the third round in 2003.
Standing between the Thai and a place in the last 16 was Spain’s Rafael Nadal, who was competing in his first Grand Slam tournament.
Becoming the first player to defeat Nadal in a Major, Srichaphan beat the Spaniard 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.
Losing to Andy Roddick in the fourth round, Srichaphan failed in his bid to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal.
He did, however, reach three consecutive Grand Slam fourth rounds, proving himself as one of the best players in the men’s game during 2003 and 2004.
The Thai star reached a career high ranking of ninth in 2003, becoming the first Asian player to break into the world’s top ten.
During his successful ATP Tour career, Srichaphan contested 11 finals, picking up five titles, all of which came at the International Series [ATP 250] level.
Paradorn Srichaphan’s record in ATP finals
He also enjoyed his time representing Thailand, boasting a 33-10 record at the Davis Cup, and picking up a gold medal in singles at the 2002 Asian Games.
Why did Paradorn Srichaphan retire from tennis?
After his career-best years in 2003 and 2004, Srichaphan slowed down in 2005, finishing the year ranked 42nd in the world.
Seemingly out of nowhere, he bounced back to reach the semi-finals of Indian Wells at the beginning of 2006, but fell to Roger Federer in straight sets, as he continued to drop down the rankings.
At his most successful tournament, Srichaphan scored his final ATP tour win, beating Simone Bollelli in the first round of the 2007 Chennai Open.
Suffering an injury in Miami, Srichaphan missed the remainder of the 2007 season and wasn’t seen again until 2009.
There, he competed at his home Thailand Open in doubles, losing in the first round alongside Danai Udomchoke.
Photo by Mark Dadswell/Getty Images
Srichaphan was preparing for a return in 2010 when he was involved in an unfortunate motorcycle accident, which saw him break both of his hands, seriously injuring his knee in the process.
Following the accident, Srichaphan officially retired from tennis on June 4, 2010.
He may not have had the fairy-tale ending, but he certainly left his mark on the sport, retiring as the greatest Thai player in tennis history.