“I let them win in America, now it’s our turn”: Noah puts London on Agassi as the captains meet again

Andre Agassi and Yannick Noah arrive at the O2 this week as second-year captains rather than curiosities, and when they were asked what changes once you are no longer the rookie in the chair, Agassi gave the least romantic description of the job anybody has offered this season.

“You don’t parachute into these world-class champions’ lives, who are obviously the best at what they do because they care so much about detail and preparation, and make magic,” the Team World captain said. “What you can do is not screw them up. You can get the best out of them, hopefully. It’s fun to be a part of.”

Noah’s version of the same answer runs through the eleven months between the editions rather than the three days of the event. “Last year was my first year, I didn’t know any of these guys. But now we’ve got this friendship, calling each other once in a while: hey, ‘that was a close game at the Australian, maybe next time’,’congratulations for the French Open’, ‘how’s your injury doing,” the Team Europe captain said. “So we have this connection, which for me is the most important of all.”

He is also clear about the limits of the role. “They’re champions, so we’re just trying to help them, hopefully not to make them off bounds. Most of them come with their group, their family, their crew, their trainers.”

Agassi describes the captaincy as presence more than instruction. “You spend the year letting them know it matters, that you’re watching and you care, because the team camaraderie goes a long way out there,” he said. “And so does humour, because humour can be a great icebreaker to allowing somebody to be the best of themselves. And so does the focus and intensity, that they always know you’re locked on. They don’t feel alone out there. Tennis can be a lonely sport.”

Last time I felt it was a good idea to let them win in America. Now we are in Europe, so it’s our turn.

That, he argues, is what produces the competitive temperature the event has become known for, and he was careful not to overclaim it. “Watching these guys not just not let each other down, but actually trying to impress each other, it lends a level of competition that, I’m not going to say they want it more than Slams, because I’d be reading their minds to say that, but they certainly act it.”

The warmth between the two captains has its limits too. Noah, whose Team Europe side lost 15-9 in San Francisco last year and who is hosting a Laver Cup for the first time, made his own position plain: “I don’t want to get used to losing to Andre. It’s not something I want to get used to. Last time I felt it was a good idea to let them win in America. Now we are in Europe, so it’s our turn.”

Agassi expects a hostile room. “I’ve never played away. Yannick has. I don’t know the crowd vibe, so I brought in a lot of North Americans and South Americans to fill up some of these seats personally, just to even a few things up. But I get the hunch we’ll be playing uphill.”

The first matches are on Friday.