Agassi claims Next Gen "can't afford to respect the Big 3 as much as they have", explains what makes Roger Federer & Rafael Nadal special
While Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have dominated the men's game for over a decade and a half, a newer generation of players has been knocking on the door in the recent past. The likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev have all racked up impressive results in best-of-three events, punctuated by wins over the Big 3 members themselves.
Medvedev and Zverev have both also reached Grand Slam finals, while Dominic Thiem's 2020 US Open triumph makes him the only Grand Slam champion outside of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic since 2016. In other words, while the Next Gen have made their mark on the tour with their best-of-three results, consistent success at the Slams has eluded them.
In that context, former World No. 1 and Career Grand Slam champion Andre Agassi recently gave his thoughts on the difference between the Next Gen and the Big 3. According to Agassi, the younger players have shown a lot of respect to the legendary trio, and that has hurt them.
"The next generation is on its way," Agassi said during an appearance on the 'The Ranveer Show' podcast. "You look at Zverev, you look at Thiem. I mean, these guys, I think they realise now that they can't afford to respect the Big 3 (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic) as much as they have been."
The American believes that if any of these players is to truly unseat Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic from the Slam throne, they need to push themselves further. He went on to claim that the transition may already be in the works, albeit slowly.
"They need to start owning it then pushing themselves to that next level," Agassi said. "It's a tough task, I don’t know when that's gonna happen. But I do believe we're in the process of seeing some of those new generation players pushing into the top."
I played Roger Federer in the 2005 US Open final, and there was no safe place on the court: Andre Agassi
During the course of the podcast, Andre Agassi answered questions about both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and what made the legendary duo so special.
Agassi first asserted that each top-ranked player of every generation has brought something unique to the sport, something that was never seen before.
"Let me just say, anybody that comes into tennis - I don't care if it's Pete, myself, McEnroe, Lendl - any generation the person that comes in to be No. 1 usually brings a couple of things to the game that nobody's ever seen before," Agassi said. "You know, that's kind of what defines (being number one)."
The eight-time Slam champion went on to lavish rich praise on Roger Federer and his unique traits. Agassi cited the 2005 US Open final in this regard, and talked about the all-rounded nature of Federer's game.
"Roger Federer, for example, I mean, I played him in the finals of 2005 US open and there was no safe place on the court," Agassi said. "At the time he probably had the best forehand in the world. He always aced Roddick more than Roddick aced him. So you have to give his serve credit; you have to give his return credit; his movement was a joke; his hands at the net were a joke; the versatility (was such) that he might have had five things individually better than everybody else on tour."
The American further likened Roger Federer's abilities on the court to a golfer that could do it all.
"You know it's like a golfer who leads in fairways, hits greens, and can putt," Agassi said.
"Rafael Nadal's power of movement, his strength and endurance, and his physicality are kind of unmatched" - Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi was also complimentary of Rafael Nadal during the podcast, claiming that his arrival on the men's tour dramatically changed the game. The American highlighted Nadal's unique topspin-heavy forehand, which he believes nullifies the strengths of other players - especially Roger Federer.
"I mean then Rafael Nadal comes along and he brings such enormous spin to the game that it actually changes the rules of engagement," Agassi said. "So you have two things with Rafa that are clearly stand out to me - that he hits the ball and it's not in till it bounces right? So that changes positions in the court where you can play that offsets a lot of those other qualities I mentioned about Federer."
Agassi went on to talk up Rafael Nadal's physical abilities, which he believes are "unmatched" by any of his contemporaries.
"Plus his power of movement, his strength and endurance, and his physicality are kind of unmatched right?" the American continued.
Andre Agassi also made it a point to mention Novak Djokovic - whom he coached for a brief period in 2018 - alongside Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
"So you have him (Rafael Nadal) bringing that into it and then I know you only asked me about those two guys, but then Novak has his own sort of thing that he brings to the table," Agassi added. "So when you look at these great players they always do something that nobody else does and that's what gives them the chance to sit at number one for a period of time."
The full-length video of Andre Agassi's appearance on the 'The Ranveer Show' podcast can be seen below: