[BAMJ6]

In tennis longevity, like Connors and Rosewall before him

Who of these players will be most likely to play as well when their past their 30's as thy are right now

 

[AgassiFan]

Jaden Gil Agassi

 

[adee-gee]

Jaden Gil Agassi

He is so cute

 

[TheMightyFed]

Seems paradoxically that old players got success early like Rosewall, Connors or Agassi. There is a big part of luck in the process, to remain injury-free. Difficult to say, who would have predicted this career to Agassi ? I think Federer can play for a long time because he's cool mentally and his game is fluid. Then you can be on the tour for a while but to maintain a top 10 ranking and do slam finals, only a handful of players can do that.
I was watching one of the 91' Connors matches the other day, and I realised he was the only one to do a GS semi at 39+ since Rosewall, and till now... that's 30 years ! It's a phenomenon quite hard to predict.

 

[IMMORTALCHAMP]

Seems paradoxically that old players got success early like Rosewall, Connors or Agassi. There is a big part of luck in the process, to remain injury-free. Difficult to say, who would have predicted this career to Agassi ? I think Federer can play for a long time because he's cool mentally and his game is fluid. Then you can be on the tour for a while but to maintain a top 10 ranking and do slam finals, only a handful of players can do that.
I was watching one of the 91' Connors matches the other day, and I realised he was the only one to do a GS semi at 39+ since Rosewall, and till now... that's 30 years ! It's a phenomenon quite hard to predict.

Yeah Federer does move fluidly but I'm skeptical about his longevity cos most players with big serves and net-games tend to get injuries earlier than baseliners. Sampras is a great comparison to Federer.

Agassi is the most unique player ever and that is why he's still here. He's a baseliner that can dictate play from inside the baseline without coming to the net. And he runs half as much as his opponent.

And I wouldn't say Federer is particularly cool mentally. When he's challenged (see Agassi and Safin matches) he lets out a giant scream and you can see he really feels the strain.

 

[TheMightyFed]

most players with big serves and net-games tend to get injuries earlier than baseliners.

accurate placement of serve but not "big" serve, he rarely seves beyond 125 MPH. Net game occasionnaly but he plays essentially from the baseline, including at Wimby...

And I wouldn't say Federer is particularly cool mentally. When he's challenged (see Agassi and Safin matches) he lets out a giant scream and you can see he really feels the strain.

I say cool in general, he keeps his composure most of the time, the screams are pretty rare comparatively to the number of matches he plays... mostly when he loses, which is not very often...

 

[joycomesmorning]

The next Agassi? I don't think there will be one, if you consdier the whole package of what he brought to the game...

No, enjoy him while we can...because when that roller coaster ride comes to an end, I think the wild ride will be shut down for some time to come....

Oh, there will be better tennis players than Andre...there already are...but when you consider all he has done and for how long he has done it...and to be as popular in other countries as he is in his own ... no, I don't think that we're going to see another Agassi...just happy to have been able to have been part of the generation that got to enjoy the pleasure and pain of being an Agassi fan from start to stop, whenever that it, I don't think that any of us think it's too long from now!!!

jcm

 

[JonnyC21]

I agree. Agassi is a unique player. If he was to take his return of serve any earlier then he would have to take it straight off the opponent's racquet.

 

[Experimentee]

I would say that players who pay a lot of attention to their fitness, are injury free, and have a game that doesnt require a lot of running would have the most chance of playing till past 35. Hrbaty comes to mind here.

 

[niko]

The next Andre is my son Andre, he is 9 years old from Kansas City.Watch for this kid.

 

[disturb3d]

Lleyton will play deep into his 30's.

 

[JonnyC21]

Lleyton will play deep into his 30's.

Will he still have his fleetness of foot though? Agassi has had to bulk up to increase his chances of winning and still has incredible upper body strength. If Hewitt does the same he may go the same way as Chang, whose attempts to gain muscle and power was eventually his downfall.

 

[wimbledonfan]

Federer has hinted about retiring around 2012 after the london olympics .I highly doubt it will be him .

 

[AgassiFan]

Agassi could have played at a high level til he was 40 if the nasty sciatic nerve didn't ruin his last 2 years. He also had 2 wrist surgeries, so it wasn't all smooth sailing.

 

[joycomesmorning]

Actually just one wrist surgery, I believe, in december of 1993...In January of 2002, the same wrist acted up...but they were able to treat it with making it immobile and rest...no surgery required...I think that he still tapes that wrist before each match as a precaution

Actually, all in all, AA has been very fortunate considering his style of tennis...and the fact that he's on the small side...tennis players' bodies take a lot of abuse...

jcm

 

[Scotso]

The creater of this thread very plainly stated "in tennis longevity."

So stop saying that "no one" will compare to Agassi, because he's not asking to compare them totally to Agassi.

It's hard for me to find someone who I think will play that long, most players just don't want to do it. Maybe Thomas Johansson.