Joachim Johansson, a Swedish guy, reminds me a lot of of Gumby. Like many big men (Johansson stands 6-foot-6), he’s simultaneously elastic and herky-jerky. He’s got a baby face, a button nose, and an unfortunate nickname, Pim-Pim. He has also dated Lleyton Hewitt’s sister, Jaslyn, which must somehow explain how Pim-Pim developed the weird glitch in his service motion that is almost identical to the one that mars Hewitt’s.
The big difference between the two, though, is that while Hewitt’s serve is only so-so, Johansson’s is monstrous, and today he gave the veteran and four-time Australian Open champion Andre Agassi all he could handle and more. Flying around in baggy black shorts and a matching headband that should have had a Jolly Roger embroidered on it, Johansson set a new single-match ace record (51) even though his battle with Agassi didn’t even go the five-set distance.
Johansson’s aces and service winners hammered Agassi like rain on a tin roof, leaving him crestfallen, looking like a bald, pigeon-toed, 34-year-old veteran, doggedly trying to bring the bacon home to his long-suffering wife and two kids one more time.
Yet, while Agassi merely waved his racquet at dozens of Johansson deliveries, he committed only 13 unforced errors in the entire match and—impossibly—won the thing in four sets. The key? According to Agassi, it was not about breaking Johansson's serve, but taking care of his own and waiting for those rare, isolated opportunities to strike against his opponent's. Here’s the money quote from Andre’s post-match press conference: "I didn't give him as many looks once the point was going...you know, at the end of the day, if you don't take care of your serve against a guy like that, the match is over in a hurry."
In fact, the entire press conference was a gem, even by Agassi's high standards—another testament to his analytical powers and his nuanced, profound understanding of the game. It also shows the practical applications of his wisdom, and contains some nice bits about his 1992 Wimbledon final vs. Goran Ivanisevic. Click here to read all of it.