Tommy Haas recalls beating idol Andre Agassi "six quick years" after watching him lift Wimbledon trophy from the stands

The memory of watching Andre Agassi lift the 1992 Wimbledon Championships trophy is still fresh in Tommy Haas' mind, as is his first win over the American legend — which incidently came at the same venue.

In the latest episode of Court-Side with Beilinson Tennis podcast, Haas, a former World No. 2, recalled beating his "idol" Andre Agassi on the hallowed lawns of Wimbledon.

Recalling the six "quick" years between him watching Agassi lift the 1992 crown to standing across the net from him at SW19, Haas said it was the moment that he announced his arrival on tennis' big stage.

"First time for me to play Andre Agassi, and I remember when he won Wimbledon in 1992, he was so pumped to win that match, and I got all the pictures and you know his signature," Tommy Haas recalled.

"And you know, quick six years later, you know, me walking out there on Center Court playing, you know, literally one of my idols," he continued. "It was like, wow, you know, I was very nervous and kind of like thinking to myself that I have finally arrived."

Speaking of the match itself, Haas said he remembered being nervous, but wanted to play well. The German conceded that while Agassi did not play the best match, he himself was extremely focussed and made the most of any opportunity that came his way.

"I want to play well," Tommy Haas said. "So you know, I know he didn't place best match... and then there was getting late at night, so we had to come back the next day.

"And I heard that he flew in rackets," he continued. "You know, for the next day for the next match to go play with a different racket. So lots of things, lots of drama going on."

---

Tommy Haas played Andre Agassi 10 times on the tour

Tommy Haas (L) and Andre Agassi in 1999.

Tommy Haas and Andre Agassi squared off on the tour 10 times, with the latter holding a slight 6-4 edge over his younger opponent.

Recalling their meetings, Haas said he felt grateful to have had the opportunities to play against his idol at the young age of 15-16. The German went on to dub Agassi as one of the "best strikers" the game has ever had.

"I got many chances to play with Andre Agassi, got to go to a couple of tournaments with him when I was like, you know, 15, 16 years old," Tommy Haas said. "So Andre to me was always one of my idols as well.

"You know, one of those guys that I that I looked up to," he continued. "Loved his game still to this day. I think he's one of the best strikers we ever had in the game."