SAN FRANCISCO – The Laver Cup is a celebration of tennis that includes a black-tie banquet, photo shoots at iconic locations (the Golden Gate Bridge for this edition), tours of the city and tricked-up arenas with a unique black court and blue and red lighting. The players, captains and vice captains spend a lot of time in the lead-up seeing each other and socializing in different situations.
New Team World captain Andre Agassi is enjoying the atmosphere, connecting with the players and fulfilling a busy itinerary.
But he's also here to win. The tennis icon knows there is a scoreboard attached to this event, and even though his squad is a heavy underdog, he’s ready to compete.
“I haven't had the luxury of spending time (with Team Europe), nor do I want to, because I'm here (with my team), you know?” Agassi said at Thursday’s press conference. “There’s a lot of competitiveness going on with this team, and it starts with ourselves. That includes me.”
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Agassi showed the energy he had less than an hour before the first match kicked off. Team World alternate Jenson Brooksby was working on his serve on the Chase Center court, and Agassi was returning. Brooksby hit one down the ‘T’ and Agassi ripped an inside-in forehand just inside the line for a winner. The crowd that was filling in gave him applause. At 55, the man can still return serve with the best of them.
Agassi, the eight-time Grand Slam winner, is probably the second most popular figure at this year’s Laver Cup behind World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz. His magnetic personality, which took over tennis in the 1990s, still resonates.
“When I was growing up, he was everything,” said Laver Cup chairman Tony Godsick, who helped recruit Agassi to replace John McEnroe as the World captain. “He was the biggest thing in tennis. So it’s exciting to have him on the sideline.”
Godsick noticed just how much Agassi has been on the court working with his players this week in preparation for the competition. Agassi says he’s trying to stay out of the way and not give his players too much information or distract them from what they do well, but he also has insights on how to make improvements.
“I didn't want to miss one second on the court (this week), because the slightest thing that a player does kind of can expose or sort of suggest how they process and how they think,” Agassi said. “I just always want to be ready to absorb what they may be feeling, or maybe say something that might not be so relevant, but it might be important for me to see if that's something they respond to. Learning, just doing a lot of learning.
“The first job is not to get in their way. I mean, it will be hard to convince me that I play enough of a role that I'm gonna do any winning out there. But I think I could screw it up. That's how I look at it. I could help them. I could distract them. You earn respect. You don't demand it.”
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Multiple Team World players mentioned how much they have enjoyed Agassi’s coaching and wisdom, from Taylor Fritz to Reilly Opelka to Alex Michelson. Opelka took it one step further when asked about what he’s learned about his captain this week.
“Andre is such a legend of the game,” Opelka said. “You always hear so much about him, and the consensus is he's just this incredibly nice human being and incredibly intelligent. And this my first time really getting to interact with them. I was always jealous because Tommy Paul and Frances (Tiafoe) got to hang with him when they were younger in Vegas, and he had them out for a training camp.
“The story was the USTA was looking to send a group of young guys to train with some other legendary American players. And I don't know if the price was right, but I think Andre did it for free and spent two weeks with Tommy and Frances and all the guys. So I think that kind of sums up my experience with Andre as best you can. He gives back to the game and is happy to spread knowledge. He's just been a great asset for tennis, and especially American tennis.”
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In his revealing autobiography ‘Open’, which was published in 2009, Agassi talked about his difficulties growing up and how he hated the game. He wrote that he wished he played a team sport, because the responsibility would not all be on his shoulders. He thought he would thrive more in a team environment. This week, he gets his chance from a different perch.
“I've always felt like I was a better team player because I could get out of my own way and do it for a bigger reason, but yet, something I was still connected to,” he told SN. “And in this case, I can be connected to it without the drama and the wear and tear of actually doing it myself. So it's kind of an interesting seat.”
Agassi first became interested when he attended last year’s Laver Cup in Berlin. He loved everything he saw, from the competition to the format to the hospitality. Godsick and his team have made sure players enjoy the experience so they want to come back.
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Roger Federer, who along with Godsick came up with the concept of the Laver Cup, has emphasized the importance of connecting the different generations of tennis. Agassi, too, appreciates that aspect of it.
“Roger’s vision was ahead of its time,” Agassi said. “Being able to look back and pay homage and respect to the greats of our game. Even the name Laver Cup. I just love it. And then having Johnny Mac and Bjorn (Borg) as a captain, and now me, Patrick (Rafter), Yannick (Noah) and Tim (Henman), it just feels like something that's going to endure the test of time. To be part of the early road of it, yeah, it's a privilege.”