"Andre Agassi had issues against certain players" - American's ex-coach Darren Cahill

Andre Agassi's ex-coach Darren Cahill recently revisited the legendary American's difficulties against certain opponents on the ATP Tour without naming them. Cahill also hilariously shed light on how his suggestions would facilitate comprehensive wins for Agassi against such opponents, but would leave the American a bit annoyed.

The Australian coach currently working with World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, featured as a guest on a recent episode of the Tennis Insider Club podcast. During his candid conversation with podcast co-hosts Caroline Garcia and Borja Duran, Cahill cast his mind back to the time he spent as former No. 1 and eight-time Major champion Andre Agassi's coach.

At one point, Cahill recalled how Andre Agassi would always strive to play his style of tennis. Agassi is widely considered as one of the greatest returners the sport has ever seen. The American leveraged a primarily counterpunching style of play and also had the ability to produce down-the-line and crosscourt winners regularly.

"Andre always wanted to walk on to the court and play his style, his tennis, because he knew that his style of tennis was the best style of tennis in the world when he played well, and no one could beat him. He didn't care what the other person did. He just wanted to go through that opponent," Cahill said. (at 21:23)

The Australian went on to recall how certain players would perform at their best when Agassi himself would be at his best. Cahill also revealed the kind of advice he would give Agassi to play effectively against such players.

"But sometimes there are players that play well when you give them your best stuff, and he had issues against certain players, where, we'd send him on to the court and said, "Come on. Junk the ball down the middle a little bit, use the slice backhand, play with a little bit of height. Don't hit the big first serve. Play with a little more kick. Get the ball outside the pocket. They move well into the corners but not so good in the middle of the court. There's all sorts of stuff that you can do."," Cahill added.

However, according to Cahill, Agassi would often be left dissatisfied even if he managed to defeat such players comprehensively by executing the Australian's suggestions on the court. Cahill would then remind the American that he had struggled previously against the same players but thought that he had played well.

"And Andre started winning these matches and he'd walk off the court and go, "Aaah! I didn't feel good about today's match." And so, "Why? What was the score?", "Yeah, I know I won 6-2, 6-2, but I...", "But last time you played this person it was 7-6 in the third. Three hours, and you walked off the court saying, "I played really good today." You're making life tough for yourself sometimes." So he had to get smarter as he got older," Cahill stated further.

Cahill became Agassi's coach when the American was 32 and had already won seven of his eight Grand Slam titles, the majority of them under the guidance of Brad Gilbert. The Australian oversaw the American's resurgence and his eighth and final Major title triumph at the 2003 Australian Open.

Under Cahill's tutelage, Agassi also returned to the ATP No. 1 in 2003, at the time becoming the oldest player to hold the top ranking in men's tennis. After his stint as the American's coach came to an end, the Australian successfully worked with the now-retired WTA icon Simona Halep. In 2022, Cahill joined Jannik Sinner's team, and has so far led the Italian to three Major titles alongside Simone Vagnozzi.

Pete Sampras happened to be one of Andre Agassi's fiercest rivals back in the day, with the latter once opining that he would have tasted more success without the former's presence on the ATP Tour.

"I don’t know how you quantify what it would have been like without a rival like Pete Sampras" - Andre Agassi in 2015

Pete Sampras (left) and Andre Agassi (right) after the 1999 Wimbledon Championships' gentlemen's singles final (Source: Getty)

Andre Agassi reflected on the rivalries he developed during his playing days in a 2015 Harvard Business Review interview. He spoke up specifically about compatriot and 14-time Major winner Pete Sampras. Agassi minced no words as he suggested that without Sampras in the mix, he would have won more titles. However, he admitted that the rivalry with Sampras made him better.

"A great rival is like a mirror. You have to look at yourself, acknowledge where you fall short, make adjustments, and nurture the areas where you overachieve. There were times my rivals brought out the best in me; there were times they brought out the worst," Andre Agassi said.

"They probably helped me win things I never would have otherwise; they also cost me titles. I don’t know how you quantify what it would have been like without a rival like Pete Sampras. I would have won more. But I think I would have been worse without him," he added.

Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi faced each other on 34 occasions, with the former winning 20 of those encounters. While Sampras officially retired in 2003, Agassi bid farewell to tennis in 2006.