"I've been involved in acting much worse, have never been involved in anything like this": When Andre Agassi was defaulted from tournament for cursing

Andre Agassi was involved in several on-court cursing incidents during his playing days, but one particularly memorable instance was when he got disqualified from the Sybase Open in 1999. The incident took place less than a month after the former World No. 1 was knocked out in the fourth round of the Australian Open.

Agassi had good momentum heading into the second round of the ATP tournament, having defeated Todd Woodbridge in straight sets. Up against compatriot and qualifier Cecil Mamiit, Agassi seemed to be on his way to an easy win, but the situation soon turned around.

After winning the first set easily, the defending champion trailed in the second set tiebreak by four points to love. It was at this point that he was caught using a series of expletives, which resulted in his disqualification from the tournament and a ticket to the third round for his opponent.

Linesman Al Klassen reported Andre Agassi's first offense to chair umpire Steve Ulrich, giving him a warning. The tennis legend then repeated his actions, leading to a point penalty. As Agassi persisted, ATP Tour supervisor Tom Barnes joined the discussion and decided to disqualify the American after consulting with Ulrich.

Andre Agassi voiced his frustration with the situation, claiming that despite being involved in "worse" behavior before, he had never experienced anything like that. He also clarified that the words he used were not directed at the line umpire.

"I was shocked. I never thought in a million years how that transpired that it would bring an end to the match," Agassi was quoted as saying by CBS News. "I've personally been involved in acting much worse and have never been involved in anything like this."

"The words I used were not singling him (Klassen) out at all. I did not start any sentence with 'you,'. Not one other person heard it. I'd be hard-pressed to believe he (Klassen) even heard it clearly," he added.

The then 29-year-old also said:

"In the heat of battle, that was a bad decision on my part. By the same token, it was a bad decision on the umpire's part and the linesman's part."

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Andre Agassi won 8 Grand Slam titles throughout his career

Andre Agassi pictured at Wimbledon 2019

Andre Agassi won eight Grand Slam singles titles throughout his career, triumphing in all the Majors at least once.

The former World No. 1's most successful Grand Slam was the Australian Open, which he won four times (1995, 2000, 2001, and 2003), followed by his home Slam — the US Open — where he lifted the trophy twice (1994 and 1999). The American won the French Open and Wimbledon once each, in 1999 and 1992, respectively.

Agassi drew the curtains on his two-decade long career in 2006 after being eliminated from the US Open by Benjamin Becker. The 53-year-old has remained involved in the sport ever since, taking on roles as a coach and contributing to various capacities.