Andre Agassi reckons he has the perfect backhand in tennis historical past, higher than each Novak Djokovic’s and Rafael Nadal’s. The American, 54, is extensively considered one of many most interesting gamers to ever maintain a racket, with eight Grand Slam titles to his identify.
He is considered one of simply 5 male gamers to have gained a profession Grand Slam (all 4 main titles) within the Open Period, and considered one of simply three to have gained a profession Golden Slam (all 4 majors plus Olympic gold). He was additionally probably the most full gamers of all time, with a deadly two-handed backhand that was each bit as efficient as his stinging forehand.
Whereas constructing the ‘good’ tennis participant utilizing attributes from totally different gamers all through historical past, Agassi did not hesitate when requested whose backhand he’d decide. “I am sticking with mine, as a result of I really feel like when my racket is on it [the ball]… I at all times felt like I knew precisely the place I used to be going to hit it,” he boasted to US Open Tennis.
“I wasn’t going to hesitate,” Agassi added. “That shot paid my payments.”
Transferring on serve, Agassi picked compatriot John Isner, which is little shock given the 6ft 10ins American holds the document each for many aces in a single match (214, at Wimbledon in 2018) and for many in a single match (113 throughout his legendary 11-hour slog towards Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon in 2010).
“I by no means acquired to play him. Thank God, he would have been a nightmare,” Agassi joked. “However you need to go together with John Isner, I imply you simply must. Pete [Sampras] had the best serve ever for a standard sized particular person… however you may’t not take anyone that would make the field as large as Isner made it.”
Because the forehand, Agassi picked Roger Federer, although gave an honourable point out to Sampras once more. “There are such a lot of methods to guage a forehand, however versaility, return, choices, I’ll in all probability go Federer. However for me, Pete’s working forehand was higher than Federer’s.”
As for velocity, Carlos Alcaraz acquired the nod. “It is the transition folks you actually have to fret about, and on the subject of that the quickest guys on the tour now, unquestionably, are Alcaraz, [Alex] de Minaur and Tommy Paul. And out of these guys, I’d fear most about Alcaraz.”
Lastly, he picked Djokovic within the mentality class and insisted it was a straightforward alternative. “Mentally, when Novak makes up his thoughts, that he’ll lockdown… or that he is sick and bored with this match being performed in your phrases and he’ll go up a degree, you see him recognise when the tone of that match wants to alter. Any individual with the ability to recognise these nuances, these intimacies is a fantastic factor and I do not assume anyone’s ever performed it higher than him.”
Agassi turned skilled in 1986 on the age of simply 16, and inside months he had damaged into the highest 100. He gained his first main in 1992, touchdown his one and solely Wimbledon title.
In 1994 he gained his first of two US Open titles, earlier than successful the Australian Open, a match he would go on to win an extra 3 times, just a few months later. He gained an Olympic gold medal at Atlanta in 1996, earlier than successful the French Open in 1999 to finish the profession Golden Slam.
Agassi, who retired in 2006, is married to fellow tennis legend Steffi Graf, who has 22 main titles underneath her belt. At one level, the couple had been the one two gamers within the Open Period to have gained a profession Golden Slam, earlier than Nadal, Djokovic and Serena Williams achieved the feat.
