"You’re bi***ing about being washed up at 24?"- When Andre Agassi recalled giving advice to French Open final opponent Andriy Medvedev

Andre Agassi's only French Open title came in 1999 when he beat Andriy Medvedev in the final.

Medvedev started the match strongly and took a two-set lead. However, Agassi staged a comeback to win the next three sets and take the match 1-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. The American thus won his fourth Major and completed the Career Grand Slam.

Agassi wrote about an incident involving Medvedev in his book, 'Open: An Autobiography'. The American claimed that he and his then-coach Brad Gilbert ran into him in a nightclub a few months before the French Open and invited him to join them.

The Ukrainian, who was 24 at the time, claimed that he was quitting tennis as he was old. Agassi talked Medvedev out of retirement by telling him that he was 29, injured, and divorced while the latter was complaining about being fed up at 24. He also told the Ukrainian that his future was bright.

"My opponent in the final is Andrei Medvedev, from Ukraine, which is not possible. It’s simply not possible. Just months ago, in Monte Carlo, Brad and I bumped into Medvedev in a nightclub. He’d suffered a heartbreaking loss that day and was drinking to numb the pain. We invited him to join us. He threw himself into a chair at our table and announced that he was quitting tennis," Agassi wrote.

"'I can’t play this f***ing game anymore', he said. 'I’m old. The game has passed me by'. I talked him out of it. 'How dare you', I said. 'Here I am, 29, injured, divorced, and you’re bi***ing about being washed up at 24? Your future is bright,'" he added.

Agassi added that Medvedev asked him for some tips and he gave the Ukrainian an honest analysis, advising him how he could do well.

"He asked me for tips, pointers. He asked me to analyze his game, just as I’d once asked Brad to analyze mine. And I was Brad-esque. I was brutally honest. I told Medvedev he had a huge serve, a big return, and a world-class backhand," Andre Agassi wrote.

"His forehand was not his best shot, of course, that was no secret, but he could hide it, because he was big enough to push opponents around. You’re a good mover! I shouted. Get back to the basics. Keep moving, slam your first serve, and rip the backhand up the line," he added.

Andre Agassi and Andriy Medvedev locked horns only twice

Andre Agassi at the 2019 Australian Open

Andre Agassi and Andriy Medvedev squared off only twice, with the 1999 French Open final being their final meeting.

Their previous encounter came in the semifinals of the 1993 Volvo International in New Haven, with an 18-year-old Medvedev winning 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4. The Ukrainian, who was seeded sixth at the tournament, ended up winning it by beating Petr Korda 7-5, 6-4, in the final. This was his sixth career title.

The 1999 French Open final was the last time Andre Agassi reached the title clash of the clay-court Major. The best he managed to do at the tournament since then was reaching the quarterfinals in 2001, 2002, and 2003.

Agassi's last appearance at the French Open came in 2005 and he suffered an opening-round elimination at the hands of Jarkko Nieminen.