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A Few Questions for
Andre Agassi

During his incredible roller coaster career, Andre Agassi has reached the highest pinnacles of the game yet a little over a year ago he was fighting his way through satellite tournaments in an effort to regain his form. Counted out by many, Agassi is once again perched atop of the tennis world playing perhaps the best tennis of his life.

Q. Andre, when people comment on your game, a lot of times they focus on your eye-hand coordination, which is said to be exceptional. Can you talk about that for a moment? Is that something you're born with? How has that developed? 

Andre Agassi: I think you have to be born with a certain amount of it and then it has to be nurtured, right? I mean you could have great eye-hand, but if your fundamentals don't allow you to take advantage of the fact that you have quick hands, that's a  problem. If you have the wrong grip and you have big swings, just because you see the ball and just because you have quick hands doesn't mean you can stand on the baseline and pick it up. It's a combination of me being blessed with a level of hand speed, but also a lot of other things that have fallen right. I have fundamentals that allow me to show that.

Q. Specifically grip or what fundamentals?

Andre Agassi: I would say starting with grip,... also having a big racket helps a lot. I would also say having short back swings, ability to shorten up my swing. My execution is on the follow-through and my backswing only changes if I have more time. My follow-through always stays the same. So they're fundamentals. I have good foot work as well, that's also important because, you know, I always seem to -- when I'm around the ball, put my feet in a proper position.

Q. We've often talked about how good your eyes are on the court, how good you see the ball. Does that give you a competitive advantage in the evening where other players might not get as good a look at the ball?

Andre Agassi: I don't necessarily believe I actually see the ball quicker than most people. I believe that I have -- my game lends for me to take the ball earlier. I think there's a difference.  I think guys can see the ball, it's just that their swings or the fundamentals of their game,...their hand speed, the way they hit their shots, might not allow them to pick it up. Although I see the ball well, you still have to have the ability to take it early. That's, I believe, more of a factor in my game than actually seeing it. But at night, you know, some people do struggle with the lights. I don't. If somebody doesn't struggle with the lights, no, I don't believe that there's an advantage for me over them.

Q. You've talked about how hard you've worked in the last few years, mentally,  physically, to bring yourself back. Was there a certain point that we didn't see the right progress but you thought, "I'm really on the right road back"?

Andre Agassi: I'm very detailed in my approach to something that's important to me. Every step is an important one. If I can get a day better in one day, that's good enough for me. I never try to get two days' better in one day. I never settle for less than one day better. All along the way, I felt like I was making progress. But I have to say that last year was a difficult year for me, and I probably had more progress last year than maybe people realize. Just because I didn't do well in the Slams doesn't mean that I wasn't playing some great tennis at different times of the year. I just wasn't doing it in the biggest of situations. I was hoping that could turn around this year, and it has.

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