"It’s a lie, this isn’t at all what I feel" - When Andre Agassi made honest admission about not feeling 'happy' with becoming World No. 1

Andre Agassi once made a brutally honest confession that he lied about feeling 'happy' after becoming the World No. 1 in the ATP rankings. Agassi became the 12th man and the fifth American in the history of men's tennis to achieve this feat.

Agassi is considered to be one of the greatest players of all time and for a very good reason. During his illustrious career, the American won eight Grand Slams, the ATP Finals, and the Olympic Gold, and was also the first man to complete the career Super Slam (Winning all Majors, the Olympics, and the ATP Finals), a feat only he and Novak Djokovic have accomplished.

Agassi enjoyed an illustrious career full of highs and lows and finally hung up his racket in 2006. Many players dream of reaching the summit of the tennis world, becoming the World No. 1, however, in his autobiography 'Open', Agassi chronicled the emotions he felt after achieving this accolade.

On April 10, 1995, Agassi dethroned his compatriot and biggest rival Pete Sampras to finally achieve his goal of becoming the World No. 1, however, the 54-year-old admitted that he lied to a reporter about feeling happy over this achievement when in reality, he felt 'nothing'.

“I’ve knocked Pete off the mountaintop. The next person who phones is a reporter. I tell him that I’m happy about the ranking, that it feels good to be the best that I can be,” Andre Agassi said, as quoted by Tennis.com.

“It’s a lie,” Agassi acknowledged to his credit. “This isn’t at all what I feel. It’s what I want to feel. It’s what I expected to feel, what I tell myself to feel. But in fact I feel nothing,” he added.

However, this was not the case during his retirement when his emotions were betrayed to his millions of fans all over the world.

"The scoreboard said I lost today, but what the scoreboard doesn't say is what it is I have found" - Andre Agassi

Andre Agassi - Source: Getty

Andre Agassi played the final match of his illustrious career against Germany's Benjamin Becker at the 2006 US Open, losing 5-7, (4)6-7, 4-6, 5-7. Following the match, the American was filled with tears as he thanked his fans for their unbridled support throughout his career.

"The scoreboard said I lost today, but what the scoreboard doesn't say is what it is I have found. Over the last 21 years, I've found loyalty. You have pulled for me on the court, and also in life, I've found inspiration, you have willed me to succeed, sometimes even in my lowest moments, and I've found generosity," Agassi said.

“You have given me your shoulders to stand on, to reach for my dreams, dreams I could have never reached without you.”

Interestingly, Andre Agassi admitted that retiring was one of the hardest decisions he ever made calling the situation akin to planning for death.