Agassi set for Hall of Fame induction

NEWPORT, Rhode Island (AFP) - Eight-time Grand Slam singles champion Andre Agassi will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on Saturday.

Agassi, among only seven men to achieve a career singles Grand Slam, spent 101 weeks ranked No. 1 in the world during a 20-year career that also included a 1996 Atlanta Olympic singles title.

The 41-year-old American is the husband of another Hall of Famer, 2004 inductee Steffi Graf.
"I'm truly honored to be recognized alongside the greatest players of tennis," Agassi said.
"Tennis has given me everything in my life. It has given me my wife. My tennis career afforded me the opportunity to make a difference in other people's lives."
The induction will come in a ceremony during the semi-finals of the ATP Hall of Fame Championships grasscourt event.
"We are looking forward to a great weekend at the International Tennis Hall of Fame as we celebrate the induction of one of the most exciting athletes of our sport," Hall of Fame chief executive Mark Stenning said.
Agassi won 60 career titles, including the 1995, 2000, 2002 and 2003 Australian Opens, the 1994 and 1999 US Opens, the 1992 Wimbledon and 1999 French Open crowns.
Agassi's 1999 French Open triumph made him the first man to have won a career Grand Slam on three different surfaces—grass, clay and hardcourt.
Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Don Budge, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver and Fred Perry are the other men to complete the career Grand Slam.
Agassi, who played for Davis Cup-winning US teams in 1990 and 1992, turned professional at age 16 in 1986, won his first ATP crown the following year and retired in 2006 after a third-round loss at the US Open.