Andre Agassi is gearing up for his first experience as a captain of Team World at the Laver Cup this year.
Agassi took over the role from John McEnroe, who led Team World for seven years from its inaugural edition in 2017.
Despite some withdrawals from the Team World lineup, Agassi still has Taylor Fritz, Alex de Minaur and Francisco Cerundolo all at his disposal.
Agassi won eight Grand Slam titles and was world number one for 101 weeks, but he has now revealed one of the big regrets from his decorated playing career.
Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images for Laver CupAndre Agassi regrets not having the chance to play Yannick Noah
It is not just Team World who have a new captain this year, with 1983 Roland Garros champion Yannick Noah replacing Stefan Edberg for Team Europe.
When speaking to LaverCup.com ahead of his first tenure at the Laver Cup, Agassi spoke about Noah’s famous win at Roland Garros 42 years ago and recalled the first time he met the Frenchman.
“It was one of the great days in our sport, watching Yannick get over the finish line in Paris,” said Agassi.
“That’s when I became aware. I remember meeting him for the first time at the Hamlet Cup in Long Island before the US Open. He was bigger than life. Every time he came around, I was too young and too nervous to talk to him, but he showed me love and respect, and I’ll never forget it.”
Agassi made his ATP Tour debut in 1986, and got to play Noah twice before the Frenchman retired from tennis in 1996.
They split their head-to-head with one win apiece, but Agassi has now admitted that he wishes he could have played alongside Noah for a longer period of time.
“One of the great regrets in my career was not being more overlapped with this man’s career,” declared Agassi. “He was just one of the great players, the great characters on the court, and one of the great people off the court.”
Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images for Laver CupAndre Agassi says what he is expecting from his first experience of captaining Team World
Agassi will have no time for regrets at the Laver Cup this year, as he has some big decisions to make to try and beat Team Europe.
However, it appears that Agassi is not thinking too far ahead and instead is going to take things as they come.
“I don’t know how I’ll deal with it as a coach, as a captain, so to speak,” said Agassi. “I have to kind of learn this in real time. In some respects, it’s a little harder watching them play.
“I’ll just have to rally the guys’ spirit, rally their energy, their focus, and try to be ready for a high level of engagement. Coaching is about what you hear, not what you say. Learning who they are as people and players will be the challenge.”
Although he may not have captained at the Laver Cup before, Agassi has previously coached Novak Djokovic and Grigor Dimitrov, and has recently offered Holger Rune some support.
Agassi and Team World will begin their Laver Cup campaign on Friday, September 19.