Andre Agassi returned to Melbourne Park on Sunday, joining Australian legend Evonne Goolagong Cawley to welcome the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup and the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup before the first ball was struck at Australian Open 2024.
Agassi, who hasn’t been in Melbourne since 2019, was reacquainted with the trophy that he hoisted four times.
DRAW: Australian Open 2024 men's and women's singles
“I connect so much with the spirit here and it was always the most relaxed Grand Slam for me, I’ll always remember it as my first bald slam,” Agassi told the Nine Network.
“I think I had a stronger connection here than I did anywhere… this has a special, special place in my heart, mind, memories, life, everything,” said the former World No.1, who retired in 2006.
“I feel like I’m half Australian,” the popular right-hander famously told the appreciative crowd at Rod Laver Arena in 2003 after clinching his fourth AO title, which happened to be the eighth and final Grand Slam of his career.
Agassi, now 53, strolled through the precinct and stopped a few times: to watch third seed Daniil Medvedev practise, to greet second seed Carlos Alcaraz, and to kiss a photo of Steffi Graf, his wife and a four-time champion.
The American great heaped praise on tenth seeded Australian Alex de Minaur, who began the season with three top-10 wins: Novak Djokovic, Taylor Fritz and Alex Zverev.
“It’s great watching his competitiveness and him representing the quintessential Aussie spirit,” Agassi told the Nine Network, crediting De Minaur’s ability to turn defense into offense.
“He doesn’t have the most overwhelming power to go through people, but yet uses his speed to create the space on the court to make things happen,” the respected right-hander observed.
While on site, Agassi stopped by the Nine Network broadcast desk outside Rod Laver Arena, where he was lauded for his 6-0 head-to-head record against co-host Todd Woodbridge.
“You had arguably the greatest slice in the world, and I say that married to my wife,” grinned Agassi. “That being said, every time I saw a slice, I saw opportunity,” laughed the American legend.
During his media blitz, Agassi spoke to local newspapers about the so-called “Big Three” in men’s tennis who broke the records set by himself and countryman Pete Sampras.
“On paper, you just can’t argue with what he’s accomplished,” Agassi said, referencing 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic in an interview with The Australian.
“Novak has won more Australian Opens than I've won Slams for crying out loud... what do you do but laugh?," Agassi told the paper.
He gave kudos to 10-time AO champion Djokovic, while also crediting the mastery of both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who was forced to withdraw from this year’s event after sustaining an injury at the Brisbane International.
The right-hander expects Djokovic’s dominance to continue for the foreseeable future. "I definitely see a few more years of him being the one that has to be dealt with,” he told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.