Agassi believes Djokovic is a better player than he was
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T
TheMagicianOfPrecision
Guest
Levelwise? Maybe, may be...
Career wise? Well lol...
Career wise? Well lol...
zagor
Bionic Poster
Well it's not like Agassi had it easy with Sampras around,not to mention that in his "second" career so to speak he was stopped many times by a peak Fed who was barely losing matches at that time.
I'd say their peaks are close,Andre took the ball earlier and was even a better ballstriker than Novak but of course Novak does have him in the movement/defense department.
Career wise Novak has a long way to go to.
Omega_7000
Legend
I hope Federer lands up in Nadal's half in every Major from this point. I want to see how the new & improved Djokovic does in finals against Nadal.
Clay lover
Legend
Strong era?
FlamEnemY
Hall of Fame
IMO the only way for him to reach a Wimbledon final and eventually win it (yeah, I know what a big IF that is) will be if Fed and Nadal are on the opposite half. This way he actually will stand a chance (even if there really are other grass court players better than him) to do some impact.
abmk
Bionic Poster
What about their returning though ? Novak's returning on the slower courts has been downright scary in recent times IMO , possibly better than even peak Agassi's !
Of course, he still hasn't reached the peaks that Agassi did on grass and fast indoor ( very few exist ) as far returning is concerned
zagor
Bionic Poster
Agree,on slow HC Novak did return amazingly well this year(both 1st and 2nd serves)but Agassi's ROS on fast surfaces in the 90s against net rushers like Becker and serving machines like Goran is still unparalleled IMO.
N
NadalAgassi
Guest
Novak playing as he did now would probably beat Agassi, except for maybe Agassi of 95, and even then Novak would win on clay for sure.
BrooklynNY
Hall of Fame
Considering Djokovic said Paris-Bercy was the fastest court he's ever played on, in his straight sets loss to Michael Llodra, I don't think Djokovic would beat Agassi on Super fast indoor courts, On a modern day Indian Wells court, Djokovic would proabably win easily with this superior movement. But, Nole is/was underwhelming on a surface like Paris.
TennisFan3
Talk Tennis Guru
Agassi was darn good returning even on slower surfaces. While Novak is a as good as Agassi on the backhand ROS, IMO Agassi's forehand ROS was better than Novak.
Novak's ROS is great because of his flexibility where as Agassi was unbelievably good at abbreviating his ball swing, hitting through the ball on the up with some sick hand eye coordination. In my book Agassi's ROS is better than Novak's.
While Novak's movement is better than Agassi's, he bases his game more on defense than Agassi did, which is why Agassi remains a better player than Novak on faster surfaces as he has more offensive options.
Lastly, Agassi stop already with hyping up the current generation. He's done that in the past IMO...
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mightyrick
Legend
The other way for Djokovic to actually win it is for him to do it the old fashioned way: LEARN, MAKE ADJUSTMENTS, AND GET BETTER. That goes for the rest of the field.
Backhanded Compliment
Legend
I appreciate that Nole is a good returner... but Agassi's return was better and it had to be because he doesnt cover the court as well as Nole, Murray, Nadal and Fed of today do.
The slower surfaces of today give greater advantage to the fleet footed.
The slower surfaces of today give greater advantage to the fleet footed.
If one match could tell the whole story, then surely you'll want to accept that based on the the ONE match that Federer and Sampras played, Sampras won't be able to beat Federer? Sampras has a 0-2 losing record against Wayne Ferreira on indoor carpet. Do you want to reconsider if Sampras was a better player than Ferreira on carpet?
C'mon, last year it was the "I can't serve to save my life" Djoker. 2011 Djoker is a completely different animal.
CDestroyer
Professional
I think Joker will have a winning record against the butt digger on every surface except clay, which sucks. I hate playing on clay and can tell many of the pro players hate it as well.
Or may be he knows what he's talking about, and you're just stuck in the past?
Manus Domini
Hall of Fame
I think Agassi would eat Novak for lunch. His ROS would make the Djoker tremble, and Agassi had a better attacking game than most people on tour now
Praetorian
Professional
Agassi and Novak both had great return of serves, but what differentiates Agassi's return was how it affected the server's mindset - his returns a lot of times were more offensive minded. You'd hear many times from the great servers like Becker, Edberg, Sampras, that the key to winning against Agassi was to serve well. Just that little added pressure would make a server just try that little bit harder, and miss that much more. Djoker on the other hand, I feel is more consistent.
Also keep in mind, while Djoker would stand 5-10 feet even on 2nd serves, Agassi would almost be hovering on the baseline even on the 1st.
Also keep in mind, while Djoker would stand 5-10 feet even on 2nd serves, Agassi would almost be hovering on the baseline even on the 1st.
what??? you haven't been following Djoker much, have you?
Praetorian
Professional
I've watched plenty enough to not concentrate on the ones he doesn't. Thank you for asking.
Murrayfan31
Hall of Fame
Agassi is right. Djokovic is a better player than him.
zagor
Bionic Poster
I agree with that,I've seen for example Roddick get a lot of free points by serving to Novak's FH.
Flexibility is one of best the parts of Novak's game overall IMO,I've never seen someone so flexible(the way he stretches to get some shots on the run is unreal),it's one of the big factors I find his game so impressive to watch.
Yeah,Agassi's eye coordination was second to none(I think I remember some article about Agassi going intop batting cage and hitting 90 mph fastballs with a baseball bat while running toward the machine).About Agassi's abbreviating ball swing,wasn't that due to his dad's coaching when he was little?
Yup,Novak plays a lot more defense than Agassi ever did which is a mistake IMO,even if he isn't as great of a ballstriker as Agassi(is anyone really?)he has the tools to be more aggressive from the baseline,even in first rounds of slams(playing some qualifiers or something)you see him cover so much court it's ridiculous.
LOL,it's basically like a script for them,even Sampras and Federer were talking how they were playing so much better when they got older but it's just that the field has improved.How much do you wanna bet that we'll see Fed after 8-9 years or so deep into his retirement saying how guys today are playing so amazing,that he's lucky he doesn't have to face them and similar nonsense,how much the game has improved since his time!
Honestly whenever I hear the corny phrase "the game is always evolving" I got a bit sick in the stomach,it might be due to my ignorance but I never bought that crap.Evolving until when? Until they start hitting 200 km/h groundstrokes and 350 km/h serves? One would get the impression that 10-20 years from now there will be super mutants playing tennis out there
TennisFan3
Talk Tennis Guru
Cheers Zagor! At last, we agree on something 
Agassi just got caught up in the streak and like a lot of old pros, wanted to be part of the current "big story" in tennis by proclaiming some sort of kinship to the latest sensation.
Now that the streak is old news, we'll see how much Agassi really rates Djokovic. If Djokovic simply goes back to being a dangerous player who can't quite cut it in slams against both Nadal and Fed, then Agassi will eventually distance himself from that statement and compare himself more to Fed or Nadal. Imagine if Djoko were to never win another slam....Agassi would feel like an idiot declaring a two-tie slam winner better than himself. So basically, Agassi is probably assuming that Djoker will go on to be a dominant slam player.
A lot of these players don't think before they speak.
Now that the streak is old news, we'll see how much Agassi really rates Djokovic. If Djokovic simply goes back to being a dangerous player who can't quite cut it in slams against both Nadal and Fed, then Agassi will eventually distance himself from that statement and compare himself more to Fed or Nadal. Imagine if Djoko were to never win another slam....Agassi would feel like an idiot declaring a two-tie slam winner better than himself. So basically, Agassi is probably assuming that Djoker will go on to be a dominant slam player.
A lot of these players don't think before they speak.
Sid_Vicious
G.O.A.T.
Agassi is a better player than Djokovic. It is crazy how much he is selling himself short these days.
tennis_pro
Bionic Poster
it depends on what's your definition of "better".
2011 Djokovic could easily challenge Agassi on any surface. The thing is to keep it up, if he can't = Agassi>Djokovic without a doubt
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
I would LOVE to see them play, (in Agassi's prime) the defense would be unbelievable.
TennisFan3
Talk Tennis Guru
You underrate Agassi. Agassi in his prime would beat Djokovic on most surfaces. The guy was an insane ball striker. Had he no fooled around in his career, and hit a bit of more work ethic, he might have been along with Sampras, Laver,Fed..
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
Oh I don't doubt that at all. Im just saying some of the rallies would be absolutely unbelievable. Sorta like Djokovic/Nadal.
Sid_Vicious
G.O.A.T.
Andre Agassi:
-8 Grand Slams
-Olympic Gold in Singles
-17 Master Series
-Career Grand Slam
-33 additional tour titles
- 1 Year End Masters
- 101 weeks at number 1
Agassi is greater than Djokovic because he has achieved much more. 2011 Djokovic is such a great player who can challenge not only Agassi in his prime, but also Federer, Nadal, and Sampras. However, until Djokovic gets into the same ballpark as Agassi's achievements, he can't be considered greater than Nada.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
Which year did he win the YEC Sid?
Sid_Vicious
G.O.A.T.
1990. Over Stefan Edberg in 4 sets.
Andre got to three more finals but lost to Sampras, Guga, and Federer.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
Thanks, didn't know that.... Very impressive indeed, and no shame in any of those loses.
Fedace
Banned
Wow,,,did Agassi take some smart pills and increase his IQ to 98?
5555
Hall of Fame
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This.
World Beater
Hall of Fame
Agassi knows whats up...
note that he said "better"...not "greater"
djokovic still has some way to go before he gets to agassi's figures.
note that he said "better"...not "greater"
djokovic still has some way to go before he gets to agassi's figures.
Murrayfan31
Hall of Fame
Djokovic is definitely the better talent though. Whether he accomplishes what his talent capabilities are is another thing. He got stuck with the GOAT though similar to Agassi got stuck with Sampras.
cc0509
Talk Tennis Guru
Oh please. Novak probably defends a little better than Agassi did and he may also be a little more athletic, but, Novak will be lucky if he ends up having anything near the career Agassi had at the end of the day. In terms of raw talent, I think Agassi may have the edge over Djokovic IMO.
prosealster
Professional
Agassi is right
N
NadalAgassi
Guest
Djokovic defends MUCH better than Agassi. It isnt remotedly close in that area. One is the the best of the last 20 years along with Nadal, Federer, and maybe Chang, and Hewitt, and the other is average in that department.
Sid_Vicious
G.O.A.T.
A little more athletic? That is a huge understatement. Agassi is several classes below Djokovic when it comes to athletic prowess.
cc0509
Talk Tennis Guru
Yes, yes, you both are correct. I should have worded it better, I am tired!
Djokovic is more athletic and a better defender than Agassi, but I still think Agassi has more "raw" talent and Djokovic will be lucky to have the career Agassi had. If Djokovic keeps on going the way he has been for the past 6 months, he has a good shot at having a career like Agassi, who knows.
nolefam_2024
G.O.A.T.
Not selling Djokovic hard enough. And now he is far behind Djokovic in every criteria.
Height matters in tennis
Plus Djokovic is freak athlete.
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