Andre Agassi: Watching Roger Federer is watching history

Shahida Jacobs
June 12, 2018

Praise doesn’t come much higher than Andre Agassi saying “watching Roger Federer is watching history”.

Federer continues to defy age as he won his 20th Grand Slam when he beat Marin Cilic in the Australian Open final and then a few weeks later he became the oldest world No 1 at the age of 36 when he replaced Rafael Nadal at the top of the rankings.

Agassi, who held the record for the oldest No 1 at 33 before the Swiss Maestro broke it in February, is certainly a big fan of Federer.

“He’s played a long time, certainly longer than me and surpassed me as the oldest number one, and he deserves to hold all those accolades,” he told Time Magazine in an interview.

“Watching him is watching history. You see it every time with the way he conducts himself—with the fans, with his peers, with the media.

“I think I just have more appreciation than the average fan because he makes it look so easy and I actually think I know what it takes. And it’s truly remarkable.”

Federer, Nadal and Novak Djovovic have dominated the sport in the last decade and many are starting to wonder when the Next Generation will take over the baton.

Federer and Nadal, though, look like they can continue for a few more years and Agassi admits the current crop hasn’t given the youngsters much room to make the breakthrough.

“This generation hasn’t left a lot of room for anybody to pick up any slack,” he said.

Andre Agassi ATP Tour Rafael Nadal Roger Federer