"I had a lot of bottled shit in me" - Andre Agassi gets profoundly deep about his new animated personality going viral at Laver Cup

Andre Agassi has been the talk of the Laver Cup in the first two days, captaining Team World to a 9-3 lead over Team Europe heading into the final day. More than the wins, it is the American legend's personality that has caught the attention of the tennis world.

Agassi was at his animated best on Day 2, giving chest bumps and high-fives to players and going viral with his emotional reactions to high-octane points during the matches. Under his expressive eyes, Alex de Minaur stunned Alexander Zverev, Francisco Cerundolo crushed Holger Rune and then Taylor Fritz shocked Carlos Alcaraz, followed by a doubles win for a Team World sweep on Day 2.

Speaking at his press conference at San Francisco, Agassi admitted that this has been a new experience for him that is helping bring out all the emotions he had kept bottled in during his playing days.

The former World No. 1's epiphany went:

"You know, it's a new experience for me too. I was asked before this, What do you think you're going to be like? I said, I barely know what I'm like every day, let alone doing something I've never done before, right?" "I guess what I'm starting to realize is I had a lot of bottled shit in me when I played, and I didn't let it out, and I directed it at one person. So I always had what's appearing to me to be a pretty damn deep intensity, focus, and competitiveness."

Andre Agassi even conceded that he was just as surprised as fans to see so many emotions pour out of him at the event, saying:

"Now that I got these able, capable, incredible machines out there sort of executing, there's nowhere for my energy to go but to do my best to help them. So, yeah, it surprises me a little bit too, actually."

As for the chest bumps, Agassi made one thing clear -- his teammates will get them from him when they have earned it, and only when they have.

"You don't demand things like that. You earn it. You earn it. When you are in war together, you earn it," Agassi said.

Agassi also spoke about the difference between coaching a team like Team World and his work coaching individual players, touching on some aspects that were markedly different between the two experiences.

"I think it's rewarding in a different way, right? Like when you work with an individual player, it's not about energy. It's about understanding him, about really being able to direct hopefully the identity of their game as they long long-term, but also some short-term tools to help them execute the things that you envision they're more capable of, right?" Agassi said. "Here it's about, honestly, if there's anything I hope any player takes away is that I don't take anything for granted on the tennis court, nor should you. You can't say which point is more important than the next until the match is over with and you're looking back," he added.

This is Andre Agassi's first year coaching at the Laver Cup, having taken from John McEnroe. Meanwhile, Bjorn Borg coached Team Europe last year, and was replaced by Yannick Noah from 2025 onwards.

Andre Agassi on being Captain at Laver Cup: "I'm trying to do as much learning as all these young men"

Laver Cup 2025 - Day 2 - Source: Getty

In his earlier press conference, Andre Agassi had spoken about what it meant to him to be a Captain at the Laver Cup, stating that he was fully ready to learn as much as possible on the job.

"Trying to learn is the first role as being the Captain. A lot of considerations heading into this weekend. The only one thing I'm clear about are what I don't know. What I don't know is what I've never experienced. So I'm trying to do as much learning as all these young men have sort of suggested they're trying to do," Agassi said.

The American great also commented on the bond between him and the players on the court, stating that he wanted to be beacon they can use to forge their own identities with time.

"Having that bond has been great. Yeah, the time on the court has been wonderful. My motivation has been sort of two-fold. It's been big picture of their career as they develop into who they want to be as a player and their identity on the tennis court, and maybe there's a north star I can sort of shine a light on or shine a light on where I see them and what they're capable of," he added.

On Day 3 of the Laver Cup, Team World can seal the tie if they win their first two singles rubbers -- Alex de Minaur taking on Jakub Mensik and Francisco Cerundolo battling Carlos Alcaraz.

Edited by Shyam Kamal