Agassi, Becker and the hint with the tongue
Why was Andre Agassi able to succeed as one of the very few players as a setback against Boris Becker? The legendary American has now revealed his secret.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: May 02, 2021, 09:30 am
Boris Becker's record against Andre Agassi was rather modest with four wins and ten defeats. Yes, there was the success at the Davis Cup in Munich in 1989 and the amazing comeback in the Wimbledon semi-finals in 1995. But in most of the other games it seemed as if Becker's hammer serve didn't matter too much to his American opponent.
In fact, there are good arguments to be found to recognize Andre Agassi as the best returns player of all time. In addition to Becker, the now 51-year-old also had to deal with men like Pete Sampras or Goran Ivanisevic - on surfaces that, in contrast to the current era, still had significant differences in speed. The hand-eye coordination of Agassis was incomparably good, noted Jürgen Melzer on the occasion of the last round birthday of his former opponent.
Agassi and Becker at the Okotoberfest
Andre Agassi initially bit his teeth at Bors Becker and lost the first three matches. That gnawed at the ambition of the young Andre, who then devoted himself to the video study of his defeats, as he now revealed in an interview. Lo and behold: Agassi found a way to take his return game against Becker to a new level. Because the three-time Wimbledon champion from Leimen gave his opponent a hint - with his tongue.
So when Becker from the entry side planned to serve through the middle or into the man, he would stick the tip of his tongue straight forward. With an outward impact, the tip of the tongue showed in the corner of the mouth. When Andre Agassi found this out, he suddenly had several trump cards in his hand as a setback. The difficulty, however, would have been to only exploit its advantages in the really crucial phases. Otherwise Becker might have smelled the roast.
A few years after the end of his career, he told Boris Becker about his discovery at the Oktoberfest in Munich, says Agassi. And Becker almost fell off his chair. Because after some matches against Agassi, he came home to his wife and complained that the man from Las Vegas could read his mind.