LAVER CUP

September 20, 2025

Andre Agassi

Francisco Cerundolo

Chase Center

Team World

Press Conference

F. CERUNDOLO/H. Rune

6-3, 7-6

Team Europe - 3

Team World - 5

THE MODERATOR: Francisco, it was a great battle out there on court today. You've taken Team World into the lead. How are you feeling about the match?

FRANCISCO CERUNDOLO: Well, yeah, super happy. I think it was a really good match for myself. Both sides I think was super intense. Yeah, really good performance.

I think we had a great day, me, Alex, all the time. I think putting Team World ahead is fantastic to get into the evening now. Yeah, super excited for what's coming on.

THE MODERATOR: Let's open it up to questions.

Q. Andre, I don't know if I've ever seen you so animated. You're up out of the chair. Just talk about your energy.

CAPTAIN ANDRE AGASSI: 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 boggled 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.

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.

Q. Can we talk about the chest bumps? Do you practice those?

FRANCISCO CERUNDOLO: No, if you saw the second one...

Q. One of them looked a little dangerous.

CAPTAIN ANDRE AGASSI: The second one almost knocked me out.

Q. Andre, did you teach everybody chest bumps? Was this something you were working on during the week? Spontaneous?

CAPTAIN ANDRE AGASSI: You don't demand things like that. You earn it. You earn it. When you are in war together, you earn it.

FRANCISCO CERUNDOLO: Yeah, things of the moment. Just go, and it happens. You saw Reilly do like this when he was playing. He jumped and then the chest bump. It's the vibe team, I think. That's what is good about us.

Q. Then just one other question sort of on your energy. What you're feeling out there and your approach, you've done some coaching before with a few players here and there. Does it make you want to do more coaching? I know this is completely different, but does it feel completely differently to be coaching this team versus the work you've done with individual players?

CAPTAIN ANDRE AGASSI: 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?

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.

We can think, oh, a set point or a break point is the most important point. You don't know that. He could be serving -- what's his name? Remind me who you played again.

FRANCISCO CERUNDOLO: Rune.

CAPTAIN ANDRE AGASSI: Holger could be serving 5-4, 40-Love. He could grind out ten balls on the defense, fight for it, end up winning the point, double fault, good shot, deuce, break a serve. Guy gets pissed, throws away his serve. 7-5, 6-2. The most important point was 5-4, 40-Love that you didn't stop, right?

I hope they take away just how important it is to be locked on present tense all the time.

Q. You returned very well today, especially those second-serve points, but you didn't hit a lot of return winners. How did you build those points?

FRANCISCO CERUNDOLO: Well, I mean, I wasn't aiming to return winners. I tried to put pressure on him and look for a next second good shot. That's what I was trying to do.

So I think I returned quite well, but I played better the next shots. I mean, you know, I created good points. I build the points really good, tried to stay there, wait for the correct ball to attack. I think I did it quite okay with my forehand.

CAPTAIN ANDRE AGASSI: (Off microphone).

FRANCISCO CERUNDOLO: If Andre says that, okay, I'll take it.

Q. Fran, everybody on the team has been talking about how they want to pick the brains of Andre and Pat, and I was wondering, how is the conversation about tactics before the match, and was there something that you wanted to get from Andre before going to the court?

FRANCISCO CERUNDOLO: Well, I mean, yeah, they're both great player. It's incredible how he and Pat, how they see the game. They see it so easy and so clear that I'm trying to take those things for them.

Doesn't matter who I play, the tactics or whatever. I mean, how they see the game, how they want me to play or they know how the other guys play, so it's incredible.

I think it was more important for me the thing that they, Andre and Pat, were talking to me during practices about my shot, about what should I improve or work on, and I think that those are the most important thing than a tactic on a match, right?

Q. Just a follow-up to that question. Coaching is now allowed in ATP Tour matches. I'm curious how the coaching you receive in an event like this is different than what you would receive in a tournament? Is it easier to make adjustments mid-match when you have your coach courtside? How is the coaching different here versus other events?

FRANCISCO CERUNDOLO: Well, actually, I think it's a little bit allowed now, the coaching. It's not like here, because you don't have your coach on the court, but you can have a little bit of conversation. Not like before.

Yeah, this is different. This is team event. You have the coach there. It's totally different how you feel the talk during the changeover.

It's good because if you are, like, quiet and, how you say, peaceful there in the changeover, you can hear many different options and very different things that the guys are saying or Andre is saying or Pat is saying. Maybe things that you don't realize during the match, because from outside, everything can -- it's easier, it's better. It's way easier to see. Yeah, I try to take advantage on that.