Federer 'dreads' training with a famous superstar for a surprising reason

Roger Federer encountered this renowned player 11 times during his career, securing victory in 8 matches.

Roger Federer dominated the tennis world for nearly two decades with numerous Grand Slam titles, defeating many legends to become one himself, yet the "Swiss Maestro" admitted there were opponents he was cautious of when stepping onto the practice court. One of them was the American legend Andre Agassi, who is now the new captain of the World team at the 2025 Laver Cup.

In the program Served with Andy Roddick, Federer openly stated that he disliked practicing with Agassi. The reason being the American played at a relentless pace, hitting extremely hard shots and giving opponents very little rest.

"I don’t enjoy practicing with Andre because the sound of the ball is always 'bang, bang, bang'. I think it’s great to mix up shots sometimes, but not like this. It’s three solid shots and then the fourth one just flies past you.", Federer recalled.

Federer and Agassi met 11 times in their careers, with the Swiss player winning 8 of those encounters. The highlight of their rivalry was the 2005 US Open final, where Federer defeated Agassi in four sets (6-3; 2-6; 7-6; 6-1), establishing himself as the new face of world tennis before Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic emerged to form the legendary "Big 3" alongside Federer.

Besides sharing memories with Agassi, the "Swiss Maestro" also offered his perspective on the evolution of modern tennis. He believes that today's players have much better return skills, possibly due to slower playing conditions or more structured training.

"Returning serve is very difficult, which is why I often slice the ball, trying to solve the situation rather than confronting it head-on.", Federer explained.

The Swiss legend also believes that modern tennis emphasizes power and fitness more than before.

"Nowadays, everyone focuses on strong forehands and backhands. In the past, every player had small weaknesses in their game, but now that’s almost gone. I think Andre was one of the first to train this way, then Rafael Nadal came along and took over. Rafa is also someone you wouldn’t want to practice with because he always hits very hard.", the former Swiss player added.

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