"He's just a very extreme character who is kind of easy to pick on": When Andre Agassi joked about why he kept dissing former coach Nick Bollettieri

Andre Agassi once humorously remarked on his tendency to diss his former coach, the late Nick Bollettieri.

Bollettieri gained significant renown in the tennis world for producing numerous Grand Slam champions, including Maria Sharapova, Monica Seles, Jim Courier, Boris Becker, and of course, Agassi.

Agassi began his partnership with Bollettieri in 1983 when he was only 13 years old. He was sent to the veteran coach's tennis academy in Florida by his father, who believed he had nothing more to teach his son. Their collaboration spanned a decade until Bollettieri ended it in 1993, a year after Agassi's first Grand Slam victory at Wimbledon.

During a press conference at the 1998 Indian Wells Masters following his quarterfinal loss to Jan-Michael Gambill, Agassi couldn't resist teasing his ex-coach. When asked to predict the winner between Gambill and Marcelo Rios in the semifinals, Agassi quipped that he would give a 'Nick Bollettieri-style prediction.' Rios defeated Gambill but ultimately lost to Greg Rusedski in the championship match.

"I think the little lefty slider and Rios has a good first shot," Agassi said. "I mean, if Gambill plays well and controls the match, I can easily see him winning. Kind of giving you a Nick Bollettieri prediction there (laughter). I think Gambill should win, but he's probably pretty spent. I don't think he's going to be as sharp. I'm going to say Rios."

When asked to clarify what he meant by that, the eight-time Grand Slam winner replied:

"He likes hedging both sides and then telling you, 'See.' I know."

Andre Agassi then explained why he kept teasing Bollettieri, mentioning that the coach was quite an extreme character and somewhat easy to pick on. He clarified that it wasn't intentional; he just couldn't resist it.

"You know what it is? It's really not motivated from a point of wanting to diss him. I think he's just a very extreme character who is kind of easy to pick on, I guess. probably should stop here pretty soon. It just comes into my mind, I can't help it," Agassi said.

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A look into Andre Agassi's Grand Slam wins

Andre Agassi pictured at the 2024 Australian Open

Andre Agassi clinched eight singles Grand Slam titles during his illustrious two-decade-long career.

Agassi's most successful Major was the Australian Open, which he won four times (in 1995, 2000, 2001, and 2003). He also secured two US Open titles (in 1994 and 1999), along with one title each at Wimbledon (in 1992) and the French Open (in 1999).

The former World No. 1 bid farewell to the sport in 2006 after being eliminated by Benjamin Becker in the third round of the New York Major. Since then, he has remained involved in tennis more or less, while also engaging in business ventures and philanthropic activities.