“I was like I can’t beat this guy”- Andre Agassi casts mind back to his moment of realization about Rafael Nadal at French Open

Andre Agassi recently recounted a story about how he realized that he could not match Rafael Nadal’s competitive spirit on the “Served” podcast, which former World No. 1 Andy Roddick hosts. While talking to Roddick, Agassi shared a story about Nadal at the French Open, reflecting the Spaniard’s competitive spirit even at a young age.

At one of the French Opens in the early 2000s, Agassi and Nadal were the last two players to leave the locker room after their respective training sessions.

The American great recalls how a teenage Nadal had difficulties opening his locker but would not give up. Agassi watched in amazement as the young Spaniard tussled with the locker, and how, upon finally opening it, he shouted “Vamos” to himself in an all but empty locker room.

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"He was in like a war with the locker and he was going to win it and he won it," said Agassi

Agassi confessed that seeing Nadal's never-give-up mentality in a trivial matter like opening a locker, the American understood it would be a step too far for him to win against the Spaniard on the court.

"And I was like I can't beat this guy..it says that's stood good," added Agassi.

Agassi had a fine record at Roland Garros himself. He had a 76 percent win rate at the French Open, losing the 1990 and 1991 finals against Andres Gomez and Jim Courier, respectively. However, he would win his only French Open title in 1999 with a five-set win over Andriy Medvedev in the final.

Andre Agassi lost both his matches against Rafael Nadal in his career

Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal faced off on the court twice in their career, with the Spaniard winning both matches. The first match they played was in the final of the 2005 Canadian Open, which Nadal won 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, winning the first of his five titles he would go on to win at the event.

The next meeting between the two took place at Wimbledon in 2006 in the third round. Agassi was a former Wimbledon champion, and Nadal was still looking to get a foothold while playing on the grass. However, the young Spaniard had no trouble beating the American veteran 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-4.

Nadal would go on to reach the final, losing against Roger Federer in four sets.

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SAGNIK DATTA

Sagnik, a Mass Communication and Journalism graduate, is a tennis journalist at Sportskeeda. Before finding his spot in the tennis writing team, he worked as a junior content specialist for academic content writing firms for a couple of years.

Before putting out any information in the public domain, Sagnik makes sure that every element of his content is well-researched and backed with credible data so that there is no misinterpretation of facts or quotes and ethical standards are maintained. To do so, Sagnik follows reputed websites like the Tennis Channel and Tennis TV, and renowned journalists on social media.

He is a fan of former player Roger Federer, and just like his favorite player, Sagnik likes to bring perfection to his write-ups by providing concise and on-point content. Speaking of the ‘GOAT’ debate, Sagnik believes that it is a bit unfair to compare the legends of the game from different eras who have played on different terms. But if he were to pick one, he’d go for Novak Djokovic based on his tally of 24 Grand Slam titles.

When not writing about tennis and technically analyzing the sport, which he believes are his 'forte', Sagnik indulges in reading books.

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