Andre Agassi, a tennis icon, has declared rather openly that his backhand is the greatest of all time.
The 54-year-old has won eight Grand Slam titles. He is one of only three men to complete a career Golden Slam, which consists of winning all four majors plus the Olympic gold. Five players have achieved a lifetime Grand Slam. Along with being one of the most versatile players in history, he had a deadly backhand that was just as deadly as his potent forehand.
It should come as no surprise, then, that the American chose the backhand position when asked to combine the best qualities of several tennis players throughout history to create the ideal tennis player. He declared, “I’m staying with [my backhand], because I feel like I always felt like I knew exactly where I was going to hit it when my racket was on it [the ball].” “That shot paid my expenses, so I wasn’t going to hesitate.”
Regarding the serve, Agassi chose his countryman John Isner, who holds the records for the most aces in a single tournament (214 at Wimbledon in 2018) as well as the most in a single match (113 in his historic 11-hour marathon versus Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon in 2010).
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“I didn’t get to portray him. “Thank heavens, that would have been a nightmare,” chuckled Agassi. “But you really really really have to go with John Isner. For someone of average size, Pete Sampras had the best serve ever, but you can’t pass up the opportunity to take someone who could make the box as large as Isner did.”
Agassi selected Roger Federer for the forehand, although he again acknowledged Sampras with honours. “A forehand may be judged in a lot of ways, but Federer has more versatility, returns, and alternatives, so I’ll definitely go with him. However, I thought Pete’s running forehand was superior to Federer’s.”
Carlos Alcaraz was his choice in terms of speed. “The individuals that really need to be concerned about are those who make the transitions, and right now on the tour, Tommy Paul, [Alex] de Minaur, and Alcaraz are without a doubt the fastest. And of those men, Alcaraz is the one I would be most concerned about.”
Finally, he claimed it was obvious and chose Novak Djokovic in the mindset category. “On a mental level, you can see Novak recognise when the tone of the match has to shift when he decides to lockdown or when he’s had enough of the match being played on your terms and wants to step it up. It’s a wonderful thing when someone can detect those subtleties and intimacies, and he does it better than anyone else, in my opinion.”
André Agassi
Andre Agassi believes he has the greatest backhand in tennis history
In 1986, Agassi made his professional debut at the age of 16, and in a matter of months, he shot up to the top 100. When he won his first Wimbledon championship in 1992, it was his first significant triumph.
He won his first of two US Open championships in 1994. A few months later, he triumphed at the Australian Open, where he would go on to win three more times. In 1996, he added an Olympic gold medal to his collection in Atlanta, and in 1999, he won the French Open to complete his career Golden Slam.
Agassi, who gave up playing in 2006, is wed to 22-time major champion Steffi Graf, another tennis pro. A lifetime Golden Slam was previously the sole possession of the two players during the Open Era, until Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Serena Williams became members of the select group.
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