Roger Federer is set to return to the Australian Open in January, eight years after he won his 20th and final Grand Slam down under.
Federer will head to Melbourne in January to feature at the tournament’s first-ever opening ceremony.
The Swiss star will also take part in the ‘Battle of the World No.1s’, an exhibition match with Lleyton Hewitt, Patrick Rafter and Andre Agassi.
Federer and Agassi‘s careers briefly overlapped in the mid 2000s, with the two clashing 11 times at tour-level events.
The legends have a good relationship nowadays, but they didn’t always see eye to eye during their playing days.
Roger Federer’s comments about Andre Agassi during 2005
At the Australian Open in 2005, Federer and Agassi won their fourth-round matchups to set up an eighth meeting with each other in the quarterfinals.
Federer had taken a 4-3 lead in their head-to-head at the 2004 US Open and was in pursuit of his fifth Grand Slam title.
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Agassi, in the twilight of his career at that point, had not won a major in two years.
Ahead of their bout, Federer discussed his upcoming opponent and was getting testy in a press conference, as per Tennis X.
He said: “I think I’ve proven myself in the past, and I know my game’s good enough. Also, on my day when I’m not playing perfect, I know I can beat him.
“He’s not as good as he was when he was at the top of the rankings, otherwise he would be there. Fortunately, I’m there. I think he has to raise his game, not me.”
He has since said of Agassi: “I didn’t like practicing with Andre because it was just like bang bang bang. And I’m thinking, well, it would be nice to roll a couple, hit a few, slice a few. And it’s none of that, you know?
“It’s like three big shots and the fourth one just rockets past you like that, and anyway, that’s not how I train, you know, that’s also not how you do it.
“I mean, we have high intensity, but we do different things. So, it’s incredible actually how we all can practice and play in different ways and actually get to a successful place.”
Roger Federer’s record against Andre Agassi after the 2005 Australian Open
Federer beat Agassi in the 2005 Australian Open quarterfinals, which marked his fifth consecutive victory over the American.
It was not his last either, as Federer continued to get the better of Agassi in their final three meetings on the tour.
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He swept Agassi aside in straight sets at the Dubai Tennis Championships, and overcame him again in the Miami Open semifinals later that year.
Then, at the 2005 US Open, Federer and Agassi met in a Grand Slam final for the very first time.
They split sets in the match, but Federer ultimately prevailed 6–3, 2–6, 7–6, 6–1 to claim major number six.
The match was Agassi’s last trip to a Grand Slam final, with the US star retiring from tennis in 2006.
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