That’s how Tennis Channel commentator Sam Querrey summed up the scene during a Laver Cup match on Friday, as Agassi—making his debut as Team World’s captain—brought his trademark energy to the sidelines.
“It’s time to dance, baby!” Agassi exclaimed to his towering player, Alex Michelsen, jumping off the bench after a changeover. “We wanna do the salsa!”
What exactly did that mean? Nobody was quite sure. But it sounded fun, lively, and perfectly Andre—full of passion and a bit unpredictable. Agassi unleashed a slew of his signature motivational lines throughout the day. To Reilly Opelka, he boldly declared, “It only takes you 11 minutes to win this match,” maybe a little hopeful.
Later, he got even more daring, telling Opelka, “It only takes 11 seconds to turn this match around.”
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What’s the deal with the number 11? Best not to question it. Like John Belushi in Animal House, sometimes you just go with the flow and soak up the excitement.
Agassi’s presence at the 8th Laver Cup in San Francisco signals a shift in leadership. Since the event began in 2017, only two men have held captain roles: Bjorn Borg for Team Europe and John McEnroe for Team World. But with Borg often silent and McEnroe long past his playing days, fresh faces were needed. So, Agassi replaced McEnroe, while Yannick Noah stepped in for Borg.
The contrast between the 55-year-old Agassi and 65-year-old Noah was striking. Agassi was animated, often hunched forward, hand covering his mouth, feet twitching, and ready to erupt with fist pumps or laughter when nearly dodging a 100-mph shot. His enthusiasm fired up the crowd and his players alike. His fiery competitiveness was exactly the kind of spirit that would have made his old coach, Nick Bollettieri, proud.
“Bend the s—- out of that serve,” he encouraged Opelka.
“Stick a knife in him right now,” he urged Michelsen.
“We want every f—-in’ point,” he declared.
“We can be a little loco sometimes,” he admitted to Joao Fonseca with a grin. And with a laugh to Michelsen and Taylor Fritz, he confessed, “God, I wish I knew something about doubles.”
Noah, by contrast, was the calm, steady hand for Team Europe. Relaxed, legs crossed, speaking softly to his players during breaks, he never raised his voice.
“You’ll do it,” he told Flavio Cobolli gently. “You’re doing great.”
He left strategic choices up to them. “You can use the drop shot if you feel like it.”
Noah’s quiet confidence comes with good reason. His Team Europe roster, led by world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, boasts higher-ranked players than Team World. Plus, Noah is a seasoned captain, having led France to three Davis Cup titles and a Fed Cup victory in 1997.
After Day 1, the scoreboard reflected his approach: Europe took three of four matches and leads 3-1. All of Europe’s wins came through tense tiebreakers, but they held firm. Yet Agassi’s high-energy style yielded results too. Opelka and Michelsen shook off early nerves to push their matches to tight tiebreaks—Opelka to a second-set tiebreak against Casper Ruud, and Michelsen winning a second-set breaker before narrowly losing 10-8 in the decider. Fonseca also got on the board with a straight-sets victory over Cobolli.
Opelka, Michelsen, and Fonseca clearly fed off Agassi’s infectious energy. None are Laver Cup veterans, and their initial tightness gave way to growing confidence thanks to Agassi’s aggressive, fearless vibe. Michelsen especially seemed to soak up Agassi’s swagger, swinging bigger and with more self-assurance as matches wore on.
“Keep sending your message,” Agassi urged a frustrated Opelka, pushing him to forget mistakes and attack. “Treat yourself like you’re big out there.”
When Opelka won a game with a powerful groundstroke, Agassi shouted, “That’s what I’m talking about! How good are those groundies?!”
A smiling Opelka, caught up in the moment, replied, “Dude, I don’t know what’s going on.”
It made you wonder: Should Opelka hire Agassi as his coach? Or maybe Agassi has a future as a U.S. Davis Cup captain himself?
After the first day, both new captains have made a strong impression. Noah’s calm, composed leadership suits a favored European team, while Agassi’s urgency and fire inject life into the underdog World squad. With their impressive track records, both captains are clearly up to the task.
As Sam Querrey said, when you’re Andre Agassi—or Yannick Noah—you can pretty much say whatever you want, and your players will feel the message loud and clear.
