Andre Agassi interview – Looking back on our exclusive interview with the new Team World Laver Cup captain

Andre Agassi is returning to the tennis stage this week as he prepares to take on the Team World captaincy for the first time, succeeding the great John McEnroe.

Agassi’s status as one of the game’s all-time great was secured long before he hung up his rackets, as he became one of just ten players to win all four Grand Slam titles.

The Las Vegas showman had an often unhealthy relationship with tennis, as he admitted in his brilliant autobiography that he fell out of love with a sport that brought him a mixture of joy and despair on and off the court.

Tennis365 sat down with Agassi at a promotion event at Wimbledon, as we looked back over his career and got us his views on the state of the current game.

Agassi’s latest return to tennis comes after he had brief flirtations with the sport in recent years, including a spell coaching Novak Djokovic.

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Here is a snapshot of the Tennus365 interview with Agassi, as we touched on a host of issues:

Tennis365: Is this current era better than your era?

Agassi: “Every sport you see can get better so I don’t see it as an insult to my generation when they say this is the golden era for men’s tennis.

“The sport has changed since my day. Spin has become a big factor on the court, the passing shots have gone up a few levels and what was considered to be an amazing shot in my time is now the norm. The rules of engagement are different now.

“I watched Novak [Djokovic] close up on clay and the ground he covers is just amazing. When I put my feet where he was on the clay, it was six paces, but he covers it so quickly.”

Tennis365: How much of success in tennis is down to talent and how much is down to mentality?

Agassi: “Nick Kyrgios has a talent that is potentially unparalleled in the tennis world, but how much would you bet on him?

“Alex Zverev, that guy has a big game and he seems professional and focused, but there is so much that goes into the psyche of being the best versus trying to get there.

“At the moment, we are talking about talent, but you just can’t say where they will take it.

“If you take Pete Sampras as an example, I watched him practice when he was 17 and I hadn’t seen him since he was a kid playing 12 and under tennis.

“I see him at a professional tournament and I am like ranked three in the world and I feel sorry for him.

“I looked at him and thought this guy is not going to get anywhere. I feel so bad for him. He is not going to amount to anything. I mean, he can’t hit a backhand, he looks so lazy and thoughtless out there practising and then he rolled over his arm, his mind went somewhere – and look what he achieved.

“You just don’t know who can do it, when it happens. It’s a trampoline affect and some guys bounce on it and then you can’t stop them. Others you think are going to make it and they just fade. It’s that extra factor that you just can’t see that makes all the difference.”

Tennis365: You said in your autobiography that you ‘hated’ tennis – are you back in love with the sport again?

Agassi: “I feel a lot better about tennis than I did back when I said in my book I hated the sport. My career was an evolution to get my own way and see tennis for what it was. It came at a huge cost until I was able to have some context.

“Now I’m grateful to have had my career, to talk about it.

“I refuse to accept anything from Novak, including expenses, I’m not interested in that. If I help him, I help the game and that is a good thing.”

Tennis365: What are your thoughts on Novak Djokovic after your experience coaching him?

Agassi: “He is intense about everything, including relaxing! He takes everything very seriously. Even when he chills out, he is determined to make the most of that time.

“What surprises me most is his intellectual capacity off the court and how little he thinks on the court. You see him off the court and he thinks through everything, but on the court he tends to feel his way through matches.

“I analysed a lot on the tennis court and felt my way through life off the court. He is the exact opposite. The guy is really smart and it shocks you how much he remembers and the details.

“If he is looking for information, he reads, studies and takes so much in. It has been fun getting to know him and working out what makes him tick and to help him on his objectives.”

“Some players find it hard to get back to the top when they have had a dip in form, but in Novak’s case, I think he can get back there. He is aged 30, but his body is still in the condition of a 25-year-old.

“The first thing you look at when you reach that stage of your career is the physical conditioning and maybe whether you have to make life easier on yourself when you reach the back end of your career.

“He needs to find a few new solutions, it’s as simple as that. Tennis is a mix of mind, body and heart and there is a balance. You have to make sure more is going in than coming out.

“For a time, he was just so intense about what he was accomplishing, his goals and objectives. At some point, you are going to run into trouble sooner rather than later. Emotionally, physically, you will eventually pay the price.

“I think he is off that plane where he put himself under so much pressure and he is on an upward trajectory again and I think there are things for him to add to his game. He needs to think about it and that is what he is doing at the moment.

“His speed and range of motion with his body is amazing. His joints don’t look the same as other people.

“When he is getting ready, and he is very particular on his rituals before a match, you look at him and he is doing things the other guys just can’t do. You look at how other guys prepare and they are not even athletes compared to this guy.

“I see him lying on a table and clapping his elbows behind his head with his face down on a bench. When your body holds up and has that kind of speed and range, it puts you ahead of the rest.”

Tennis365: How do you think the women’s game compares to the men’s game?

Agassi: “We are not talking about human rights issues here, we are just talking about physical capabilities. You can’t say who would do what against who until you get out there and show it and clearly there is a big strength advantage for men.

“Everything above the shoulder is a heck of a lot easier for men than women.

“It is the same reason why women don’t fight the men in UFC, it’s a debate you don’t need to have. I don’t see a point in getting too hung up on that issue.”

Tennis365: What do you think about five-set matches for the women’s game?

Agassi: “Women can accomplish whatever they want. Of course, they could play five sets, it would bring in another element to the women’s game.

“It would be a lot more challenging for them and Grand Slams would look very different. Women would have to prepare differently and the game would change dramatically. They don’t need to play three out of five sets to prove anything to me.”

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