Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi
Andre Kirk Agassiis an American retired professional tennis player and former World No. 1, who was one of the game's most dominant players from the early 1990s to the mid-2000s. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi had been called the greatest service returner in the history of the game. Described by the BBC upon his retirement as "perhaps the biggest worldwide star in the sport's history", Agassi...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionTennis Player
Date of Birth29 April 1970
CityLas Vegas, NV
CountryUnited States of America
I kept my head down and kept wanting to make him earn it. In the third and fourth set, I felt I was a bit living on the edge with my serve. But then in the fifth, I settled down a little bit on my service games and put enough pressure on him to get that break.
I settled down on my service games and my ground strokes, put enough pressure on him to get that break.
Anything you try to do, he potentially has an answer for, ... He plays the game in a way I haven't seen before. I mean, he's the only guy where you hold serve for 1-0, and you're thinking, 'All right ... good (laughter).' That's how it is. You've always got that sense of urgency. It's an incredible challenge.
The third and fourth set, I felt I was a bit living on the edge with my serve. He was getting a lot of good swings at it, had me under a lot of pressure. But the fifth, I had a few good easy hold games and started to relax a little bit more and hit my spots a little bit better, so that helped me to relax on my return games, as well.
Other guys you play, and I've played a lot of them, there's a safety zone, there's a place to get to, there's something to focus on, there's a way. Anything you try to do, he (Federer) potentially has an answer for. He plays the game in a very special way. I haven't seen it before.
I feel like I've experienced every part of my game throughout this first week and I've liked the levels I've hit.
My accomplishments do not live up to my tennis game. Most people have to work really hard and win some big matches, and then they get money and popularity. For me it has been the reverse of everybody else. The exact opposite.
In tennis you're on an island. Of all the games men and women play, tennis is the closest to solitary confinement,
It's no accident, I think, that tennis uses the language of life. Advantage, service, fault, break, love, the basic elements of tennis are those of everyday existence, because every match is a life in miniature. Even the structure of tennis, the way the pieces fit inside one another like Russian nesting dolls, mimics the structure of our days. Points become games become sets become tournaments, and it's all so tightly connected that any point can become the turning point. It reminds me of the way seconds become minutes become hours, and any hour can be our finest. Or darkest. It's our choice.
I just lost to a guy that was better, ... He's the best I've ever played against. Normally, if I played that way against anybody else, I'd be favoring myself. Anything you try to do, he potentially has an answer to it. He plays the game in a very special way. I haven't seen it before. Pete (Sampras) was great. No question. But there was a place to go with Pete. There's no such play like that with Roger.
He's the best I've ever played against. Everything you try to do, he has an answer for. He plays the game in a very special way.
He's unique to the game based on his size and the way he plays. I don't know what it's like to face it. It's an odd trajectory that the ball is coming down from. It's not even so much the pace, it's the trajectory as well.
He's unique to the game based on his size and the way he plays. A guy like that is really awkward. It's an odd trajectory that the ball's coming down from,
He's the only guy I've ever played where you hold serve to go 1-0 and you're thinking, 'All right, good. The amount of options he has to get around any particular stage of the match seems to be endless. He can elevate his game at any time.