Why Marcis Giron thinks Andre Agassi’s career has been extended | ATP Tour

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Why Giron thinks Agassi’s career has been extended

Giron reflects on lessons learned from former world no.

July 20, 2024

On the surface, Marcos Giron’s 6-4, 6-1 win in the quarterfinals of the Infosys Hall of Fame Open on Friday looked ordinary. But an interesting fact was revealed.

In the front row was Andre Agassi, former No. 1 in the PIF ATP rankings. The greatest player of all time even shook hands with Giron during the match.

“The more time you spend with him, the more you realize he’s just a lovely person,” Giron joked during an on-court interview. “No, honestly, he’s unreal. He’s just the nicest person I’ve ever met. His knowledge is unbelievable, it’s really something special. He’s someone I’ve looked up to since I was a kid and he’s just so amazing and even more amazing than you would imagine when you meet him.”

Hiron said their relationship “started out of nowhere” four years ago in San Diego, when a player named Hudson Rivera asked Hiron if he could play, and Agassi was there too. The two had never met before.

“I was really excited,” Hiron told ATPTour.com. “Later that year, Sevi Korda was going to Las Vegas (to train with Agassi) and he was looking for someone to train with, so I jumped at the opportunity. I spent a few days there, we talked a little bit and it was a great experience.”

“He gave me some really great advice back then, and we’d occasionally send a few text messages or call each other here and there, every few months.”

Towards the end of 2022, the depth of their relationship changed. Hiron reached out to Agassi, a 60-time tour-level winner, to ask him what he thought of his play. He told the legend he wanted to take the “next step.” Since then, Agassi has been Hiron’s mentor.

“Since 2020, he’s been incredibly friendly and giving of his time. I think I went to Las Vegas for three days and he’s actually changed my life, just the way he looks at the game. I truly believe he’s extended my career by years,” Giron said. “Because of his guidance, his knowledge and his vision … you can tell he sees the game on a whole different level than other people, so it’s great to take something from that.”

“We’ve kept in contact since then. We text and call. Not every day, but he’s always so friendly. Very insightful. Every now and then, I’ll go out to Las Vegas, which is really nice.”

The 30-year-old Giron reached a career-high No. 44 in the PIF ATP Rankings earlier this year and is bidding for his first ATP Tour victory in Newport this week, with victories over 2024 stars including Andrey Rublev, Andy Murray and Matteo Berrettini.

Giron is playing the best tennis of his career and attributes some of his progress to advice he has received from Agassi.

“When you’re around him, you see how he sees things. It’s like a magnifying glass. He sees the whole canvas. When something happens, he can immediately tell if it makes sense or not. What’s wrong here? What’s wrong there? What’s the overall issue?,” Giron said. “The biggest thing he noticed was that I wasn’t looking for enough opportunities to be aggressive. That was the biggest thing. And then he really helped my backhand as well. To be honest with you, he helped my backhand a lot.”

A former college tennis star at UCLA, Giron has always been good at moving, has a top-class forehand, serves well for someone his size and competes really hard.

“But I used to say I won a lot of games with a lot of heart, a lot of hustle and a lot of other ways,” Giron said. “He really helped me to give my all to my opponents and really be a threat.”

That made Giron’s win on Friday even more special. Agassi was not traveling with his compatriot but was in town for the International Tennis Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

“It’s been amazing. Anytime you get to be with him it’s just so great. It’s awesome. And (his wife) Steffi (Graf) is just so great. So sweet. And then of course her history, she’s a great champion,” said the second-seeded Giron, who will face fourth-seeded Christopher Eubanks in Saturday’s semifinals. “For me, it’s just so great that they’re even thinking about it and putting in the effort. It’s like, who am I? I play tennis so it’s just so great that they have such busy lives and they have so much going on with their kids and their foundations and all that.”

“They have a lot going on, so just for them to come and watch tennis and watch my matches and give me their thoughts and feedback is really special.”