‘You Didn’t Like My Price’ – Jimmy Connors’ Brutal Reply to ‘Las Vegas Kid’ Andre Agassi’s Sarcastic Dig at the 1988 Us Open

Andre Agassi has always been an outspoken person. The eight-time Grand Slam champion never masked his emotions. Therefore, he has a history of indulging in banters with his opponents and umpires. Though he received admiration for bringing rage into the gentlemen’s game. A few things that he did in his playing days left a bad impression.

Agassi, in 1988, keeping true to his nature, spoke ruthlessly about Jimmy Connors’ game post his victory in the quarterfinals of the US Open. The harsh words of the newcomer wounded Connors deeply. So much so that he even mentioned the same in his autobiography.

How Connors responded to Agassi’s disrespectful words

Connors got hooked on Agassi’s “I didn’t think Jimmy had that much in him” comment. He felt insulted. Therefore, taking a dig at him for acting all disciple-like initially and later stabbing a dagger at his back, Connors wrote, “Really? You obviously changed your mind a few years later, Andre, when you came asking for coaching assistance.”

Thereafter, he added, “Let me refresh your memory. We met up at Southern California’s Sherwood Country Club and spent a morning hitting balls together with John Lloyd. I’d have been interested in working with you back then. You had bags of talent, but you weren’t making the most of it. So it never panned out.”

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“Maybe you didn’t like my price. I don’t know. Remember that, Andre?” Agassi took down Connors in sets of 6-2 7-6 6-1 on the hard courts of the US Open that year. Following that, in the next season, they met again. While the latter was looking forward to avenging his defeat, Agassi came back with the spirit of defending his words and out-muscled him again 6-1 4-6 0-6 6-3 6-4 to advance to the semifinals.

What are Jimmy Connors and Andre Agassi up to these days?

Even though Connors played great tennis in his 40s, he eventually decided to hang his racket in 1996. Since then, he has been taking broadcasting and analytical roles. Also, he tried his hands at coaching for some time. Connors worked with the five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova and former World No 1 Andy Roddick.

Watch this story: When Roger Federer toyed his opponent so bad, he asked for advice from Andre Agassi in the crowd Wimbledon championships

Speaking of Agassi, the four times Australian Open champion, post his retirement diverted his energy towards the betterment of at-risk children’s life. He runs Andre Agassi Foundation, which provides education and other facilities to kids in Nevada. Further, like Connors, the 52-year-old tested his coaching skills for some time. Agassi worked in collaboration with Novak Djokovic and Grigor Dimitrov.