Andre Agassi believed Roger Federer was going to change the way tennis was played, says American's former coach Darren Cahill
Recalling a match between Roger Federer and Andre Agassi in 2003, Darren Cahill revealed that after losing, Agassi predicted the Swiss maestro would change the way tennis was played.
Federer and Agassi faced each other in the first round-robin match of the ATP Finals in Houston, Texas. The closely-fought contest was won 6-7(3), 6-3, 7-6(7) by Federer, then a rising star, as he reached the final. The eight-time Grand Slam champion, on the other hand, was required to win all his remaining matches to get to the summit clash, and he did.
Going into the final, Agassi led 3-1 in the head-to-head against the Swiss prodigy and was quite confident of winning the match. However, Federer dominated him in a best-of-five contest, winning the final 6-3, 6-0, 6-4. Cahill, the American legend's coach at the time, was shocked at the level of tennis that Federer showed.
Speaking on The Big Deal - Australian Sports Business Podcast, Cahill heaped praise on the now 20-time Grand Slam winner and described how his pupil reacted.
"I can't remember the score but Andre lost, absolutely got thumped by Federer," Cahill said. "I was shocked at the level that Federer played, just took the racquet out of Andre's hand. It was one of the best displays of tennis and I walked into the locker room afterwards and tapped him on the shoulder. I just said, 'Bad luck, mate. Roger was too good'."
It was then that Andre Agassi told his coach that Federer would change the way the sport was played. Cahill agreed with the assessment, adding that the Swiss player took tennis to new heights.
"He just looked at me and started laughing and he went, 'What the hell was that? I have never seen tennis played like that before. This guy is going to change the way tennis is played'. He saw and felt it before Roger sort of became Roger. He lifted tennis to a level that we had never seen," Cahill added.
"He will ask 50 questions about a player" - Darren Cahill on Andre Agassi's thought process
Darren Cahill worked with Andre Agassi from 2002 to 2006 and helped him to his final Grand Slam title at the 2003 Australian Open. The American icon also regained the World No. 1 ranking under Cahill. The Australian recently lauded Agassi for the way he prepared for his matches by trying to find out as much about his opponent as possible.
"The way his brain works is quite unique and I've never really seen it in a tennis player," Cahill said. "He will ask 50 questions about a certain player. So you had to be on your game with him. He understood that when you get on to the court, the responsibility is the player’s. But he needed all this information so he could process it before he went out and played his tennis match."