Andre Agassi Prediksi Arthur Fery Miliki Karier Cemerlang

Mantan petenis nomor satu dunia Andre Agassi memberikan penilaian positif terhadap masa depan Arthur Fery setelah petenis Inggris tersebut tersingkir di babak semifinal turnamen Wimbledon pada Jumat (10/7).

Langkah mengejutkan Fery terhenti setelah dikalahkan oleh Alexander Zverev dengan skor akhir 7-6(0), 6-2, dan 6-4. Menanggapi kekalahan tersebut, mantan petenis Inggris Tim Henman dan Agassi memberikan analisis mereka secara langsung melalui saluran BBC.

Henman menyoroti besarnya tantangan yang dihadapi Fery saat berhadapan dengan kekuatan servis Zverev yang tampil dominan di lapangan rumput.

"We all understood it was going to be a tall order for Fery," kata Henman.

"He tried everything, in the first game he was trying to give Zverev different looks, but Zverev’s power behind the first serve was absolutely immense."

Henman menambahkan bahwa Fery telah berusaha keras untuk memberikan perlawanan di hadapan publik tuan rumah, namun tingkat permainan Zverev saat ini berada di kelas yang berbeda.

"And Fery, as hard as he tried and wanted to give the crowd something to get their teeth stuck into, he was just a different class today and that is a reflection of where he is at with his game having won his first Grand Slam. He has taken that confidence on to grass courts." lanjut Henman.

Sementara itu, Agassi memberikan pujian tinggi terhadap pergerakan kaki dan kemampuan pukulan backhand yang dimiliki oleh petenis berusia 23 tahun tersebut selama turnamen berlangsung.

"I think it’s been a great, fantastic few weeks and credit to the folks here for giving him a wildcard." ujar Agassi.

"He is such a talented player. He moves so well, I guess it’s hard to be smaller and slow, but he moves unbelievably. I love his backhand, he can go through the court in both directions. He has great feel and great hands with the slice." sambung Agassi.

Meski demikian, Agassi melihat adanya celah taktis dalam permainan Fery yang berhasil dimanfaatkan dengan baik oleh Zverev selama pertandingan semifinal tersebut.

"The problem I see with the match up today is that his forehand tends to be more of a ball with rotation on it and sits up, which is great for Zverev, who likes to hook his ball across. Zverev is just going to eat all day on that shot." jelas Agassi.

Faktor tinggi badan juga dinilai memengaruhi efektivitas Fery dalam mengembalikan servis bertenaga tinggi yang diluncurkan oleh petenis Jerman tersebut.

"With his height returning is an interesting proposition because you are kind of damned if you do or damned if you don’t. You want to back up and give yourself time but you don’t really have the leverage or the time. It’s not really an option because Zverev can hit his spots with pace and then you are behind and then stepping up is also dangerous because the speed of the serve was at its full glory." ungkap Agassi.

Kendati kalah, Agassi tetap mengagumi semangat juang Fery yang mampu memojokkan lawan pada poin-poin netral sepanjang laga.

"But he is still making all the neutral points a battle. The problem is most of the comments neutral points were played on his serve. He is a fighter though and I like his chances of not just having a great two weeks but having one heck of a career." pungkas Agassi.

Berkat pencapaian hingga semifinal Wimbledon, peringkat dunia Fery dipastikan melonjak 78 peringkat dari posisi 114 ke peringkat 36 dunia, yang membuatnya menjadi petenis nomor satu Inggris yang baru. Posisi baru ini memberikan keuntungan bagi Fery untuk langsung masuk ke babak utama turnamen besar tanpa kualifikasi, termasuk Amerika Serikat Terbuka mendatang.