Standing in his way of glory was Andre Agassi, a three-time champion at Melbourne Park, who was trying to win his ninth Grand Slam.

Roger Federer had won their last four meetings and having won the last two Grand Slams, he was feeling good about his chances of beating Agassi once again.

What did Roger Federer say about Andre Agassi at the 2005 Australian Open?

Federer defeated Marcos Baghdatis to set up a quarter-final match with Agassi at the 2005 Australian Open.

This was the third of their four meetings at Grand Slams and the eighth overall, and as mentioned above the World number one at the time had the upper hand in their rivalry.

Therefore, Federer was feeling very confident, and sounded even somewhat dismissive of his opponent ahead of the contest.

“I think I’ve proven myself in the past and I know my game is good enough,” Federer told reporters pre-match. “On a day when I’m not playing perfect, I know I can beat him [Agassi].

“He’s not as good as he was when he was on top of the rankings, otherwise he would be there. Fortunately I’m there, so I think he has to raise his game and not me.”

Brad Gilbert, who was covering the tournament for ESPN at the time, then shared his reaction to the comments about Agassi, who he coached from 1994 to 2002.

“If Andre saw that, that’s fighting words right there,” he said. “You expect the number one player in the world to have confidence. Everybody’s saying ‘bring it on’, he’s looking at it the same way.

“This is two warriors right now about to go at it. This is what he [Agassi] loves, this is what he relishes, just this one opportunity quite like this.”

Agassi also spoke to the media ahead of his quarter-final showdown with Federer and was looking forward to playing him once again.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge and opportunity of playing Roger,” the American said. “He’s been playing the best tennis in the world for a while now, and somebody has to beat him sooner or later right? So I hope it’s me.”

Roger Federer beat Andre Agassi at the 2005 Australian Open

Agassi and Federer battled for a spot in the last four at the 2005 Australian Open and as hard as Agassi tried, the tournament’s top seed at the time was too strong for the American.

Federer needed just one break of serve before going on to win the opening set, and he served 19 aces on the way to taking the second set.

Once Federer broke serve to start set three, there was no way back for Agassi as Federer secured a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to move into the semi-finals.

Post match Federer said: “A good start always helps, especially against Andre and I think I really served well, he never broke me.

“From the baseline it was clear who was the better man so I had to serve better.” Federer went on to play Marat Safin in the semi-finals. The Russian claimed a shock five-set win before beating home favourite Lleyton Hewitt to claim the title.

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