Agassi, former No. 1 and champion of eight Grand Slams: “Alcaraz plays like Federer, Nadal and Djokovic when he wants”
The American Andrew Agassi It goes far beyond his record, which shows his quality, not so much the impact he had on tennis, which he took to other levels of popularity with his groundbreaking image. The tennis player in the jeans, with long hair (fake) and an earring in his ear. A rock star with a racket.
He was world number one, Olympic champion, won eight Grand Slam titles, becoming the first professional to win the four ‘big’ tournaments on three different surfaces.
An icon who gained notoriety in the 90s and early 2000s, who continues to be a charismatic character. His autobiography ‘Open’ caused a sensation. An overly harsh father, drug use, a marriage to America’s then ‘sweetheart’, actress Brooke Shields.
An explosive cocktail that was tempered over the years and his stable relationship with a tennis queen, the legendary German Steffi Graf. The so-called Las Vegas boy confessed when he had already overcome the most difficult times.
At 56 years old he will be the protagonist at the US Open sharing the court with the honoree Roger Federer and his compatriots John McEnroe and Andy Roddick this Tuesday at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Agassi He returned to the circuit to train, play exhibitions and deliver blunt sentences as a star commentator for Tennis Channel. He says what he thinks, without caring about the repercussions. He is not one of those who soaps up his racket colleagues.
If he utters a lapidary phrase it is because it comes from his head, from his scrutiny of tennis, and from his heart. He has worked with the Serbian Novak Djokovic so it has its space in the recently released Prime Video documentary about the figure of the Serbian.
Although the biggest compliment goes to the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz. Andrew Agassi He has spoken a lot and well about the ‘Big 3’, the Swiss Roger FedererSpanish Rafa Nadal and Djokovic himself, but also praises the progress of tennis after them.
“Novak, Roger and Rafa They each played very different tennis, but they were great in their own way. And now you see players, especially Alcaraz, who plays like the three of them when he wants. The game is improving,” he says in ‘The Wolf in Winter’. In the Spanish version, ‘Novak Djokovic: the wolf in winter’.
He agrees with many analysts, the protagonists of the ‘Big 3’ themselves see their own things in tennis. Carlos Alcarazas brilliant as it is effective. An artist who combines inventiveness with power. A total tennis player who was immersed as a child watching the antics of three athletes who have left a legacy that will last through the tennis players of the present and the future.
Agassi himself stated some time ago that “Alcaraz is a combination of the three. The revolutions he applies to the ball like Rafa, Novak’s defense, Roger’s sensations with the ball. He is extraordinary, a mix of the previous generation.”
Agassi had a huge rivalry with his fellow American Pete Samprasfrom the confrontation of styles and characters. Andre, a long-distance tennis player, a mass idol; Pete, discreet, a ‘killer’ with the serve and his continuous climbs to the net.
