Amidst the news of Coco Gauff sacking Brad Gilbert as her coach, American tennis legend Andre Agassi recalls a powerful message given to him by the ex-coach. Agassi has never shied away from talking about the contribution of Gilbert in his successful tennis career and thus, took another opportunity to recall the latter’s mantra.
In a video clip titled Andre Agassi: Bravery to Reach Potential posted by Tennis Farmer, the 8-time grand slam champion detailed his tennis mindset that could help the future generation adopt a ‘brave’ approach. He also revisited the emotional time he bid adieu to the sport and the words of his former coach Gilbert, which he had also written about in his autobiography – Open.
The mantra was, ‘‘I don’t have to be good, I have to just be better than you,” stressing how it is to perform better than the opponent to achieve excellence rather than focusing on becoming great.
“I am not sure a sport can test somebody’s character more than tennis. The fact that it’s a one-on-one engagement, the fact that everything I do affects you do…The fact that there’s no one to pass the ball to, you’re constantly pushing yourself to live on the edges of anything you’re capable of, physically, mentally, emotionally. So it’s always asking you to be the most of yourself in a very personal way,” said Agassi in the video.
Gilbert’s role in changing Agassi’s mindset for the good helped the latter a lot in his career as he was striving for ‘perfection’ while the coach explained to him how the process was more important. Instead of trying to be perfect, he advised him to attack his opponent’s weaknesses and get the odds in his favor to ultimately take the game away.
“Quit going for the knockout, he says. Stop swinging for the fences. All you have to be is solid. Singles, doubles, move the chains forward. Stop thinking about yourself, and your own game, and remember that the guy on the other side of the net has weaknesses. Attack his weaknesses. You don’t have to be the best in the world every time you go out there,” Agassi explained what Gilbert said in chapter 15 of his autobiography.
However, the coach couldn’t replicate the success he had with Agassi, with Gauff as the American struggled to replicate his previous success. This could be a huge blow for him as he lost the player who is currently ranked sixth in the world as his pupil.
