In recent months, many tennis players and former tennis players have had fun building their ideal tennis player, assembling pieces from past and present champions; the latest was Andre Agassi and his choices have caused discussion.
The legendary American was invited to build his ideal tennis player and, in a post published on the social profiles of the US Open, Agassi, winner of 8 Slam titles, outlined his ideal player through 5 main categories: serve, forehand, backhand, speed and mentality.
Agassi cited Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic while he snubbing Rafael Nadal.
For the serve, Andre pointed to John Isner: “Pete Sampras had a great serve, I mean for a normal-sized person excellent. His mechanics, his execution of the shot were perfect. It was beautiful to watch. But if I have to evaluate the serve I would say indisputably John Isner. I have never seen anyone serve what John did,” analyzed Agassi.
On the choice of forehand, the American explained: “There are many ways to judge a forehand, but here I would say Roger Federer. Sampras’ running forehand was superior to Federer’s, he hit a phenomenal ball. But in general on the forehand my choice falls on Roger Federer.
On backhand, Agassi chose himself: “I would say mine. I’ve always had the feeling on my backhand of knowing exactly where the ball was going when I hit it. I had very few hesitations on this shot that has given me so much in my career.
Regarding the speed of execution (and thought), Agassi said: “Three guys are the fastest right now on the tour. They are Carlos Alcaraz, Alex de Minaur and Tommy Paul. I say Alcaraz for the skills he has shown in managing the point and for the ability he has to turn rallies around.”
Finally, Agassi talked about mentality, explaining: “Without a doubt, without any hesitation, I say Novak Djokovic. Mentally when he’s focused or needs to raise his level, he does it. No one can raise the level in a match when he serves like he does.”
