"I think about walking to the net and forfeiting" - When Andre Agassi recalled his injury issues during his final appearance at French Open

Andre Agassi made his final appearance at the French Open in 2005. Seeded sixth in the tournament, the American faced Finland's Jarkko Nieminen in the first round.

The Finn won the opening set 7-5 but Agassi bounced back to take the next two sets 6-4, 7-6(6) and take the lead in the match. Nieminen dominated the remaining two sets and won them 6-1, 6-0 to book his place in the second round of the French Open.

This was the second successive year that Agassi suffered an opening-round exit at the clay court Major, having previously lost to Jerome Haehnel in 2004.

The American was dealing with back problems throughout the match and wrote about it in his book, 'Open: An Autobiography'. He stated that it was difficult for him to stand, serve, and breathe during the match.

Agassi also claimed that he often felt like forfeiting the match but did not want to do so.

"In the first round of the 2005 French Open, I play Jarkko Nieminen, from Finland. Simply by stepping on the court, I set a record. My 58th slam. One more than Chang, Connors, Lendl, Ferreira. More than anyone in the Open era. My back, however, is in no mood to commemorate the occasion," the former World No. 1 wrote.

"The cortisone has worn off. Serving is painful, standing is painful. Breathing is work. I think about walking to the net and forfeiting. But this is Roland Garros. I can’t walk off this court, not this one. They’ll have to carry me off this court atop my racket," he added.

Andre Agassi won 51 out of 67 matches so far at the French Open

Andre Agassi at the 2019 Australian Open

Andre Agassi won 51 out of his 67 matches at the French Open with a win percentage of 76.11 - his lowest at any Grand Slam.

The American reached his maiden Major final at the 1990 edition of the clay court event before losing to Andres Gomez. He also made it to the title clash in 1991 but lost to Jim Courier.

Agassi eventually won the French Open in 1999 by defeating Andrei Medvedev in the final after coming back from two sets down. He thus completed the Career Grand Slam.

The American never won the clay court Major again but managed to reach the quarterfinals in 2001, 2002, and 2003, before suffering first-round exits in his final two appearances.