"He’d rather sneak away than lose to his son" - When Andre Agassi recalled nearly beating his father in tennis as a kid

Andre Agassi once said that he nearly beat his father in a tennis match while he was young.

The American's book "Open: An Autobiography" came out in 2009 and contains numerous stories from his life. One of them is Agassi almost beating his father Mike in tennis shortly after registering a win over NFL legend Jim Brown when he was only a kid.

The American wrote that he was leading 5-2 and was serving for the match before his father left the court and told him to do the same. He said that his father would rather "sneak away" than endure a defeat against his son.

"Not long after beating Mr. Brown, I play a practice match against my father at Caesars. I’m up 5–2, serving for the match. I’ve never beaten my father, and he looks as if he’s about to lose much more than $10,000. Suddenly he walks off the court. 'Get your stuff', he says. Let’s go," Andre Agassi wrote.

"He won’t finish. He’d rather sneak away than lose to his son. Deep down, I know it’s the last time we’ll ever play," he added.

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Andre Agassi won eight Grand Slams throughout his career

Andre Agassi at the Nasdaq-100 Open in 2002.

Andre Agassi will go down as one of the finest tennis players of all time.

The American's most successful Grand Slam was the Australian Open, which he won four times. He first in Melbourne in 1995 after beating Pete Sampras in the final, and his second title came in 2000 after triumphing over Yevgeny Kafelnikov. He triumphed at the hardcourt Slam again in 2001 and 2003, beating Arnaud Clement and Rainer Schuettler in the respective finals.

Agassi's only triumph at the French Open came in 1999 when he beat Andriy Medvedev in the title clash to complete the Career Grand Slam. He also reached the final of the Paris Major in 1990 and 1991. The American's sole Wimbledon victory came in 1992 when he overcame Goran Ivanisevic in five sets. This was his very first Grand Slam win.

Agassi won two titles at the US Open in 1994 and 1999, with wins over Michael Stich and Todd Martin in the respective finals. He also attained the World No. 1 ranking and held it for a total of 101 weeks.

The American retired from tennis in 2006 after a third-round exit at that year's US Open.