"Proud to take an L to AA" - John Isner reacts as he & Andy Roddick lose to Andre Agassi & Tommy Paul at Cincinnati Open Legends Exhibition 2024
On Saturday, August 10, the 2024 Cincinnati Open hosted a Community Day with a legends match featuring Andre Agassi, Tommy Paul, Andy Roddick, and John Isner. It was a doubles match won by Agassi and Paul. Isner said after the event that he was "proud" to lose to eight-time Grand Slam champion Agassi.
The Cincinnati Open, which began over a century ago, hosted its first Community Day this year. It was a day filled with fun and family-friendly activities for fans, including the chance to witness top players practicing on the venue’s 21 courts. Meanwhile, the Center Court at the Lindner Family Tennis Center played host to a Legends Exhibition doubles match between the pair of Agassi and Paul against Roddick and Isner.
Initially, Roddick was going to pair up with 2004 Olympic silver medallist Mardy Fish. However, Fish pulled out of the event and was replaced by 2024 Olympic bronze medallist Paul. After Paul's inclusion, the teams were shuffled. Lindsay Davenport and Steffi Graf were special guests at the event.
The Legends match was won by Agassi and Paul 7-5, 6-4. Following their win, the 54-year-old Agassi posted an image with his 6-foot-10-inch opponent.
Isner commented on the post:
"Proud to take an L to AA"
Agassi has recently spoken in glowing terms about Isner's serve, calling it a "nightmare" to face.
Andre Agassi believes it would have been a 'nightmare' to play against John Isner's serve
Andre Agassi recently matched specific attributes with players who most excel at them to create the "perfect" tennis player. The first attribute he was asked about was "serve" and Agassi chose John Isner.
"Never got to play him. Thank God, he would have been a nightmare. You have to go John Isner," Andre Agassi said.
The eight-time Grand Slam champion added that for a "normal-sized person" the best serve was Pete Sampras'.
"I think his mechanics, the way he transferred that movement might be the greatest execution of any kind of sporting activity in the world. It was the most beautiful thing you could ever see," he added.
Further, the American chose Novak Djokovic for "mentality", saying:
"When Novak makes up his mind that he's going to lock down... He's going to go up a level. You see him use his speed defensively, lock down mentally, and you see him recognize when the tone of the match needs to change."
Overall, Agassi's "perfect" tennis player's attributes included Isner's serve, Roger Federer's forehand, his own backhand, Carlos Alcaraz's speed, and Djokovic's mentality.