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The Oprah Winfrey Show  |  September 04, 2007
Andre Agassi's standing ovation


The tennis world had never seen anything quite like Andre Agassi when he exploded on the scene 21 years ago. The tennis prodigy dropped out of school in eighth grade and turned pro at 16. His victories and slumps on and off the court played out in the public spotlight. During a dazzling career, he racked up 60 singles titles, eight Grand Slam crowns and an Olympic gold medal.

In 2006, Andre battled a searing back injury to play his final match at the sold-out U.S. Open. It was a defining moment in sports history. His wife, tennis legend Steffi Graf, and their son Jaden, cheered from the sidelines as thousands of fans gave Andre a four-minute standing ovation. Andre says it was an amazing moment. "It was worth every ounce of energy or sweat that I went through. That one moment," he says. "Normally when I play tennis, everything's blurry except the ball. In this case the ball was very blurry that day, I assure you, but it's like I recognized everybody that was there."
Printed from Oprah.com on Saturday, May 25, 2013
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