Andre Agassi certainly knew what it took to be successful back in his playing days, an eight-time Grand Slam winner whose career spanned over two decades.
Agassi won his first Slam in 1992 – the only Wimbledon title he claimed in his career, and the American then carried on playing until 2006.
Since then, men’s tennis has mostly been dominated by the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic – three players who join him on the all-time list.
But in terms of who would eventually succeed that trio, Agassi didn’t necessarily get his prediction quite right when speaking back in 2018.
After praising Federer’s career in an interview with Time, Agassi was then asked about who he thought could be at the forefront of the next generation of stars on the ATP Tour.
In response, Agassi chose both Frances Tiafoe and Reilly Opelka, two Americans who he hoped could lead the way.
Backing the two youngsters at the time, Agassi said: “You look at the next generation and you know I think the top two leading the pack as far as potential you know, Frances Tiafoe – who I think is a hell of an athlete and I think can bring a lot to the table and I think can possibly put himself in the position to be a factor at Slams and the upcoming years.
“Then you look at something you can’t teach like Reilly Opelka who is seven feet tall you know – it’s slim pickings when you talk about the best in the world and you better bring something that’s very unique and you’re competing against the world so this is probably one of the most optimistic generations that I think we have a look now at possibly having somebody sneak through.”
Frances Tiafoe and Reilly Opelka have failed to live up to Andre Agassi’s prediction
In terms of where the duo are at today, Tiafoe is 27-years-old and has reached a career-high ranking of number 10 back in 2023.
Tiafoe’s Grand Slam record hasn’t made for good reading despite Agassi’s faith in his potential, but perhaps there is more to come.
At the time of writing Tiafoe is number 17 on the ATP Tour – the fourth highest American on the list.
Unfortunately for Opelka, he is now well below the career-high ranking of number 17 that he achieved back in 2022 – another talent who could still turn their promise into significant wins in the future.
That being said, Andy Roddick shared some honest thoughts on comments Opelka made about doubles recently, a player who’s always been outspoken on the tour.
