Agassi ignites new fire in Djoker
INSPIRATION The World No 2 Serbian says he always looked up to his new coach Andre Agassi in his formative years
World number two Novak Djokovic said it is a dream come true to have tennis great Andre Agassi as his coach.
Djokovic and eight-time grand slam champion Agassi will team up for the French Open and possibly beyond as the former world number one attempts to get back to the peak of his powers.
A winner of 12 Majors, Djokovic — who split from Boris Becker last December — lost to Alexander Zverev in the final of Sunday’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
Djokovic is relishing the opportunity to work with Agassi, having only claimed one title in 2017 after losing his spot atop the ATP Tour rankings to Andy Murray last year.
“Having Andre Agassi as a coach is a dream come true, honestly,” Djokovic said. “He’s someone that I was looking up to when I was younger.
“We have similar styles of game, very similar. He has been considered to be one of the greatest returners of all time and I was relying on return in my game throughout my career a lot. So there are a lot of similarities. But also, in the trajectory throughout the career and him experiencing that drop in the rankings and then coming back from 140, I think, in the world, to number one.
“I guess, experiencing different conditions in his life and facing a lot of challenges and still managing to come out on top and still showing his resilience and strength, that is something I can relate to a lot. He’s been through everything I have been through right now, not just right now but throughout my career. He understands the role of being one of the top players.
“He understands how it is to win all the tournaments in the world, because he has won them all. It’s an amazing adventure for both of us.”
Djokovic has struggled for form and consistency since he was dethroned as number one, looking a shadow of his former self.
But the 30-year-old Serb insisted he is as motivated as ever to add to his 12 slams.
“I love this sport with all my heart, I truly do. I still have a tremendous amount of passion and motivation to do well. As long as I have that flare inside of me, I’ll keep going and hopefully make more foot prints,” he added.
“I deserve until now or maybe with hopefully success that will come, to be along with the greats in our sport. Of course, that’s one of the greatest motivations and privileges that I can have as an athlete, to be mentioned alongside the elite, with Andre Agassi, for example, or Becker, [Pete] Sampras, [Roger] Federer, [Rafael] Nadal, these kinds of players that have made a huge mark in this sport.” Australia’s Samantha Stosur says she will depend on the old serve-forehand routine at Rolland Garros.
“They’re my weapons anyway, and with my spin it helps, using my kick serve to set up the point and then finishing it with my forehand.” Dominic Thiem believes along with forehand, the sharp angles he can get off that, will be key weapons at French Open. “Short angle crosscourt, because it’s the shot which moves the opponent the most and gets him most tired,” the top-10 ace said. “Probably in the long two weeks of the French Open it’s the most important shot.” Andy Murray will be relying on his serve. “I think if I am serving better, it gives me a much better chance. I haven’t been losing matches due to my return game, I’ve been breaking serve a decent amount, but I think against Thiem (in Barcelona) I won 54 percent of my first serves, whereas last year my average for the season was in the mid to high 70s.” Retired American star James Blake, who once hit the fastest recorded forehand (210kph), says a player needs to have at least one legitimate mega-weapon.
“The big forehand can always be a benefit, but I think the main thing is having at least one legitimate weapon. The game goes in cycles sometimes. The best two players (Andy Murray & Novak Djokovic) in the game the last two years have been the best at neutralizing weapons.” A better candidate for key weapon in today’s sporting arena might be physical fitness, says Frenchman Richard Gasquet.
“To run around a clay court, best of five, you need to win seven matches, you need to be ready for that. All shots are very important to win against guys like Rafa, Djokovic, Murray, it’s not just one shot, everything needs to be 100 percent,” said Gasquet.
We have similar styles. He has been considered one of the greatest returners of all time and I was relying on return in my game throughout my career. Experiencing different conditions in his life and facing a lot of challenges and still managing to come out on top, that is something I can relate to a lot. I love this sport with all my heart. I have a tremendous amount of passion to do well. As long as I have that flare, I’ll keep going and hopefully make more foot prints.