Former World No. 1 Andre Agassi names the greatest defensive player in tennis history

During the 1990s and early 2000s, Andre Agassi was one of the most prominent tennis players in the world. He won multiple Grand Slam titles and held the No. 1 spot in the ATP Rankings on several occasions, underlining his massive impact on the sport. However, the American icon hasn’t hesitated to praise a current star as one of the all-time greats.

In a recent conversation with Andy Roddick on the Served podcast, Agassi spoke about Novak Djokovic and offered some remarkably high praise. “I see the greatest defensive player the game has ever seen,” Andre began, placing the Serbian star among the legends of the game.

But the praise didn’t stop there, as Agassi made it clear that Djokovic’s skill set goes far beyond his defensive prowess. “And shockingly, when he needs to be, possibly the greatest offensive player the game has ever seen,” he said. “He’s like the boxer that needs to feel the glove hit him before he even engages.”

Andre then broke down how Novak’s game works—and what makes him such a formidable opponent: “He goes into this lockdown mode, then you start throwing punches at him, then you get away with a few, then you start getting him engaged and he goes into hyper lockdown mode. Then he throws some offence in, and you’re thinking ‘I couldn’t win a point when he was on defence, now he’s on offence.’”

This isn’t the first time the former World No. 1 has expressed a similar opinion. Just a few months ago, in an interview with The Australian, Agassi spoke about Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic and chose the latter as the best of the three. “Roger brought elegance, class, and his unique style to the sport. Then Nadal brought the intensity and the ballistic nature with which he approached the game… all of these guys have elevated tennis. But on paper, I don’t think you can argue with what Novak has done,” said Andre.

Agassi praises Alcaraz

In the same conversation with Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi also discussed Carlos Alcaraz’s playing style. “The thing that amazes me most watching Carlos play live is how little his speed diminishes from clay to grass,” he began. “Everybody’s movement comes down a touch, but his didn’t.”

The American icon expanded on that observation. “He’s still so raw. I hope he learns how to maximise, and we should enjoy watching him before he does, because it’s so much fun for the fans to watch how he plays the game,” Agassi added. “But he still has so much more upside from a standpoint of longevity.“

The Sinner–Alcaraz comparison

After praising Alcaraz, Agassi compared him to Jannik Sinner. “Sinner is the exact opposite, he is constantly maximising. He’s never hit a ball he doesn’t really need to and when he does let one rip, it makes you wonder if he was forced to, what that gear would really look like,” said Andre. “He’s taking 85 per cent cuts and his jab is like a straight right. Jannik just wants to take over and never look back.”