"It brings out another level of intensity": Andre Agassi speaks openly ahead of the Laver Cup

Team World for the upcoming Laver Cup will be led by former eight-time Grand Slam champion and American great, Andre Agassi. This year’s event will take place from the 19th to the of 21st September in San Francisco, California.

The Laver Cup is an annual male team tennis event that takes place over three days and pits Team World against Team Europe. Similar to the Ryder Cup in golf, the event aims to bring together the best six players from either side in a contest to see who comes out on top. Named after the Australian tennis legend Rod Laver, this event has serious pedigree and has featured many top-name players before, including Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

Before taking up the role, Agassi revealed in an interview with Tennis Channel on YouTube that he was incredibly against the idea, claiming his first thought about the proposition was, “No, they approached me a while back not just for this year, but I didn’t know if I had the bandwidth and I didn’t know if I believed it quite frankly, so I had to go see it”. Agassi went on to expand on his decision to take up the role of Team World captain: "When I listen to John (McEnroe) talk about it and Bjorn (Borg), they’ve both done an incredible job. I listened to the fans that have gone and I said, you know, I gotta go see this for myself. And I listen to the players that have competed in it as well, and I see how much they care about it as well".

Agassi was never a player that had the chance to play at the Laver Cup, considering he retired in 2006, so you can forgive his scepticism over the event's legitimacy and his overall involvement. However this year it seems he is well in the mix, as team World Captain he will be hoping for a crushing victory for his side after a disappointing loss in the last edition.

Agassi made further comments about the upcoming event, including significant praise for one of the younger members of his team. “I’m completely honoured to be a part of it and I have no idea how to make it better than it’s been, but if there’s something I can do, I’ll try and figure it out.” When questioned about his team selection, Agassi heaped praise on Joao Fonseca, a teenager from Brazil who he feels is already perfect for the big occasion. “Oh my gosh, I mean he’s got my attention, you know, eight months ago. You know, watching him play is crazy—the easy power he has off both wings, the movement, athleticism, he’s a bigger guy than you think too, a bit like Sinner… When Fonseca does it (generates power), you don’t even know it’s coming, it’s just like a jab. It’s pretty crazy watching him. He was the coaches’ pick.” Clearly full of praise and admiration for Joao Fonseca, it will be intriguing to see where his career can go off the back of a stellar Laver Cup campaign.

Only certain players have been confirmed for the Laver Cup this year. From Team Europe, we have French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, and Holger Rune so far. Whereas for Team World, four players have been announced at this time: Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton, and the aforementioned Joao Fonseca. The Laver Cup always brings serious intensity and passion for representing not only your country but also the continents from which selection is considered.

As Andre Agassi and Yannick Noah continue to consider who they will fill the rest of their squads with, we can only hope for another exciting edition of the Laver Cup, full of entertaining and determined tennis—with only one winner.