"Always a delight to watch Leander Paes both on and off the court" - Andre Agassi reacts to Indian tennis great's commercial appearance

Andre Agassi expressed his delight after watching Cred's new advertisement featuring Indian Tennis legend Leander Paes. Agassi opined that watching Leander Paes on and off the court was equally delightful.

Both players have been legends of the game. Andre Agassi won 8 Grand Slams and went on to win the coveted Olympic gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. He modeled his game on playing aggressive ground strokes and focused on outlasting his opponents in the game of physical endurance. Agassi attained the World No. 1 rank in 1995.

On the other hand, Leander Paes had a huge role in putting Indian tennis on the global map in the 1990s. Paes won the junior Wimbledon title in 1990 and subsequently turned professional in the following year. However, he prioritized his doubles game and formed the famed duo "Indian Express" with Mahesh Bhupathi. The pair went on to win multiple golds at Asian games and win three majors. Paes went on to win 18 grand slams in doubles with multiple partners in both men's doubles and mixed doubles.

Agassi commented on the new advertisement of Cred in which Paes is shown to be engaged in comical antics, saying that it was a delight to see the Indian superstar off the court as well.

"Always a delight watching @leander both on and off the court" quoted by Agassi on X (Formerly Twitter).

Famed Atlanta encounter and Agassi's mention of Paes in his autobiography

Andre Agassi celebrates the gold

In their career, Agassi and Paes met only twice, with both matches being won by Agassi. The most famed encounter was the semi-final clash at the Atlanta Olympics. Agassi won the match and subsequently won the gold by beating Sergeu Buguera in the final. Paes withstood the pain from a wrist injury and won his bronze medal tie by defeating Fernando Meligeni. This medal remains the only one India has secured in tennis at the Olympics.

The only other time the pair met on the court was in the round of 64 in the 1996 US Open where Agassi won in four sets.

Agassi commented on the Indian's speed and quick reflexes in his memoir, Open: An Autobiography. Writing about Paes, Agassi referred to the Indian Player as "Flying Jumping Bean".

“In the semis, I meet Leander Paes, from India. He’s a flying jumping bean, a bundle of hyperkinetic energy, with the tour’s quickest hands. Still, he’s never learned to hit a tennis ball. He hits off-speed, hacks, chips, lobs — he’s the Brad (Gilbert) of Bombay,” quoted in Agassi's book.

Paes commented on his lack of innovative stroke-making in a live social media session. He went on to say that as per Anand Amritraj, his speed and energy were his focal points of strength on the tennis court.

“Anand Amritraj was impressed by how I kept chasing the ball all the way even to the doubles court. I certainly know my tennis strokes have never impressed anybody,” as per the Olympics Website.