Brash and bratty, the antithesis of American rival Pete Sampras, Agassi initially struggled to turn style into substance. He reached two Grand Slam semi-finals in 1988, but it was another four years and three final defeats before he got his hands on a major trophy.

The American public's suspicion of Agassi was summed up in his 1989 US Open quarter-final against 36-year-old Jimmy Connors. As Connors threw the ball up to serve, a fan shouted: "You're a legend, he's a punk."

And despite the critics increasingly questioning his attitude, Agassi went out and made an advert for Canon in which he uttered the tagline: 'Image Is Everything'.