Open

During the Davis Cup, Andre pulled a chest muscle while trying to protect his injured rib cartilage. Doctors insisted that he rest. Brad pointed out that Andre would lose his number-one world ranking, but Andre no longer cared, convinced that Sampras would always take the top spot.

Brooke bought a house in Los Angeles and got a guest role on the hit sitcom Friends. She compared the role to the US Open. Andre had never seen Friends but pretended to be happy for her. He and Perry flew to Hollywood to watch the filming of the episode. Brooke played a stalker, and the role required her to lick the character Joey’s hand. Horrified, Andre stormed out and returned to Vegas. When Brooke pointed out that he would be furious if she behaved the same way during a tennis match, Andre smashed his tennis trophies.

In a match at Stuttgart, Andre was one set ahead when the bottom of one tennis shoe fell off. He lost the match wearing a shoe far too small that a man in the crowd donated. Andre promised himself that he would retire but traveled to Australia for the 1996 Australian Open as the defending champion. On the plane, he took a sleeping pill with vodka, and when he reached the hotel, he fell down a spiral staircase, cutting his kneecap