Agassi and his wife Steffi Graf were invited to be part of the 2020 Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, where they spoke at length with noted Indian sports journalist Ayaz Memon.
The American began by revealing that Roger Federer’s genius was clear to him right from the first time they locked horns on the tour (Basel 1998). The then 17-year-old Federer got a 6-3, 6-2 beatdown on that day, but showed enough glimpses of his extraordinary talent to leave a lasting impression in Agassi’s mind.
Andre Agassi then lauded Rafael Nadal and suggested that the Spaniard has matched Federer’s lofty standards.
The four-time Australian Open champion then reminded everyone of Novak Djokovic’s dominant record against Federer and Nadal. Agassi believes Djokovic’s extraordinary versatility makes him stand out in this highly competitive generation.
Challenging Novak Djokovic to stop working with me was a reason for him to prove something: Andre Agassi
Agassi then delved deeper into his brief stint as Novak Djokovic’s coach. The American was part of the Serb’s team from May 2017 to March 2018 but called it quits due to a string of disagreements.
Novak Djokovic and Andre Agassi were often at loggerheads about the former’s elbow injury, which derailed a major part of his 2017 season. While Novak Djokovic wanted to play the waiting game and let the injury heal on its own, Agassi wanted an immediate surgery to resolve the matter quickly.
Djokovic eventually underwent the procedure and returned as a much stronger version of himself, both physically and mentally. As such, Agassi believes he triggered a positive shift in Novak Djokovic’s career by parting ways with him.
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