“There’s just one guy” – Andre Agassi picks a surprising player from ‘my generation’ who could take on Jannik Sinner
After easily beating Novak Djokovic in the semi-final, Jannik Sinner is on track to make even more tennis history at Wimbledon.
While Arthur Fery has won the hearts of fans by reaching the semi-final as a wildcard and breaking British records, his opponent faces one of the toughest challenges in tennis.
Alexander Zverev, who broke records himself by beating Andy Murray, now meets the tough challenge of Jannik Sinner.
After a strong win over Djokovic, Sinner is aiming for his fifth Grand Slam title, having reached eight finals in his last 10 tournaments.
With Carlos Alcaraz out of the picture, and even when he’s playing, Sinner has become the top player of his generation.
But how would he stack up against players from the past?
Andre Agassi shared an interesting opinion during live BBC commentary at the Wimbledon semi-final. He said the toughest player for Sinner wouldn’t be Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer, but surprisingly, Marat Safin.
Agassi said, “In my generation, only one guy could match this level of play, and that’s Marat Safin.”
Safin was a two-time Grand Slam winner, taking the US Open in 2000 and the Australian Open in 2005, and he even reached world number one.
Though Safin was often in the shadow of Federer, Nadal, and Agassi himself, Agassi believes Safin’s style would give him a great chance against Sinner.
He said, “Safin was incredible. He could serve powerfully and play with both hands. At 6’5”, he moved really well. You need all those skills to compete at this level—it’s all about tiny margins.”
Agassi and Safin faced each other six times, with Agassi winning the first three and Safin taking the last three as he improved.
Sinner’s performance has been truly amazing though. Even with some serious injuries, the 24-year-old Italian keeps making finals and is quickly catching up to the tennis greats in Grand Slam wins.