Great moments in Paris

There's something special about the French Open. And if like me you can't wait for the action to begin in Paris on Sunday take a look at the great posts by Van at Tennis talk anyone on his favourite moments from the French Open. It includes Courier's destruction of the field in 1992 and Capriati v Clijsters in 2001

This also presents me with an opportunity to shamelessly recycle two posts with video on some of my own favourite memories from Roland Garros. Chang and his under arm (under hand?) serve and Agassi coming back from two sets down to complete his career slam.

Lets hope 2008 will provide some equally enduring memories. Go Roger!

Sampras to play in London

The Tour of Champions has lost its way in recent years. It used to be a great event, largely due to the enduring appeal of seeing John McEnroe play.

But being less choosy about who can enter has taken the shine off the event. McEnroe is a still a class act but finds it increasingly tough to compete with the younger, fitter, but less interesting journeymen the organisers have admitted in the last couple of years.

This has deprived the event of its PR ‘big shout’. The original USP was to watch legends from yesterday battle it out. But the reaction from most punters to a Paul Haarhuis v Guy Forget final is "Paul who?"

Which is why the announcement yesterday that Pete Sampras will be competing at this December's event at the Albert Hall is such a coup.

Because unlike many of the players who have made up the numbers in the last couple of years Sampras is of course, a true great.

Lets hope this is the beginning of something special. It would be fantastic if some of the other greats from the Sampras generation – Agassi, Becker, Chang – also signed up.

Does Federer need a coach?

In my predictions for 2008 I suggested that Federer will bounce back from his defeat at the Aussie Open by winning Wimbledon, the US, and even Gold at the Olympics. It's a tall order but I think he still has the edge.

However, there can be no doubt that with the emergence of Djoko and the other 'next generation' players, the gap between Federer and the chasing pack has narrowed.

And so after Federer's split with Tony Roche and his defeat in Melbourne the question that many are asking is does Federer need a new coach? As Joel Drucker says on ESPN even a Ferrari needs a mechanic.

Which got me thinking. Who could add value?

It may sound a little left-field but given that Federer is probably looking primarily for an advisor and sounding board, how about Andre Agassi? Agassi could bring the best bits of Brad Gilbert, without the Gilbert in your face intensity (or maybe that is the best bit). He's also won the one remaining slam that eludes Federer.

What's more, while Federer is likely to continue to win slams for the next few years, he has to accept that sooner or later he will no longer be No 1. When the time comes Agassi could help him move to the next phase in his career and make the transition from all conquering No 1 to a top 5 player who still wins the occasional slam.

And I'm sure Agassi would enjoy helping Federer over take Sampras...

Great moments in tennis No 4 - Agassi completes career slam

How do you measure greatness? Is it the number of slams a player wins? How they win them? Completing the near mythical calendar Grand Slam? How they respond to adversity and setbacks? A Champion's complete domination of the game? The impact a player has on tennis? Or the number of new people they attract into the game?

The answer of course is all of the above and then some.

Andre Agassi was a true Great. The number of slams he won ("only" 8 - what most players would give for a fraction of that success) probably denies him the title of The Greatest of All Time (GOAT).

But I would argue that he was an even greater player that his arch rival Pete Sampras. Sure, Pistol Pete won 6 more Slams but where Andre has the edge over Sampras, McEnroe, Borg, and (for the time being at least) Federer is his 'Career Grand Slam', winning all 4 of the main events between 1992 and 1999.

Unlike Laver he didn't do it in the course of one season - which I guess is still the ultimate test for any candidate to be GOAT - but of course what Agassi did do was complete his Slam on 4 different surfaces.

He completed the set in Paris in 1999 with victory over Andrei Medvedev in the French Open final. True to form Agassi didn't do it the easy way. In fact he had to claw it back from 2 sets to love to win in 5.

You can watch the final moments of the match along with the post match reaction here