Seeing is believing.
After seeing a teenage Rafael Nadal's twisting topspin forehand, crackling serve and dynamic speed around the court, Andre Agassi believed the Spaniard would be a prolific champion.
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A 19-year-old Nadal defeated Agassi, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, in the 2005 Rogers Cup final that left the American convinced the future king of clay could rule all surfaces.
To celebrate Nadal's return to the Rogers Cup this week, the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy posted this clip of the final 13 years ago.
Nadal had already won eight titles in 2005, including his first Monte-Carlo, Rome and Roland Garros crowns, when he took the court for the Rogers Cup final.
Widely regarded as one of the most astute analysts of his era, Agassi was impressed by the poise and polish the Spanish teenager exuded.
"He has a difficult game. It's certainly easy to see why he's won so many matches," Agassi said minutes after the 2005 Rogers Cup final. "He does a lot of things really well. Just a great mover on the court. Gets good power from very stretched positions so you're never quite sure if you have complete control of the point.
"I found his serve more awkward than I was anticipating because if you don't hit a good return, he immediately gets on the offense. That's a sign of a great player: somebody who can play good defense, but also when they get ahold of a point, they don't let go of it. He's one of those guys that if he gets ahold of a point, he's not going to let go of it. It puts more pressure on you to hit a quality return, and it moves a little bit. I felt like today that was a big difference. I wasn't getting neutral enough right off his serve. That surprised me a little bit."
Though Agassi made those comments on August 14th, 2005, they still hold true today.
Agassi and wife Steffi Graf both played very quickly, wasting little time between points.
The Hall of Famer said even at a young age, Nadal was shrewdly controlling the pace of play between points.
"Rafael is very a practical, calculated, sort of methodical player," Agassi said. "He takes his time. It's great to see somebody have that sense about themselves at such a young age, where they take their time and they execute. He should have the right to do that. But there's also a need to play to the server's pace. I'm not sure where the subtleties fall on that particular rule."
Photo credit: Rogers Cup Facebook