Open

In the early rounds of the 1990 French Open, Andre beat Courier and Chang. Newspapers predicted Andre’s victory in the final. However, the night before the match, his hairpiece came apart, and though Philly used bobby pins to clip strands in place, Andre lost the final, preoccupied by the fear that his hairpiece might fall off. At the airport, a trolley caught his Achilles tendon, and he bled profusely.

Andre missed Wimbledon again and worked with Gil on building a winner’s mindset. At the 1990 US Open, he beat Becker and was confident of defeating Sampras in the final. However, Sampras played an immaculate game, and Andre lost, astonished at his opponent’s improvement.

Twenty-one-year-old Andre reached his third Grand Slam final in a row when he faced Courier in the 1991 French Open. Andre knew he could win, but his animosity toward Courier made him tense. After Courier broke him in the fifth set, Andre resigned himself to losing.

Wendi, now Andre’s girlfriend, encouraged him to play at Wimbledon and accompanied him to London. Andre reached the quarterfinals but was defeated after pulling a hip muscle. At the US Open, he lost in the first round as competitiveness again deserted him.

Andre bought a bachelor pad in Vegas, creating rooms for arcade games, billiards, and a movie theater.