Djokovic enlists Agassi for French Open
ROME: Novak Djokovic revealed on Sunday that American great Andre Agassi would be his new coach, but said they did not yet have a “long-term commitment”.
“I spoke to Andre the last couple weeks on the phone, and we decided to get together in Paris. So he’s gonna be there. We’ll see what future brings. We are both excited to work together and see where it takes us,” said Djokovic, beaten 6-4, 6-3 in the Rome Masters final on Sunday by 20-year-old German Alexander Zverev.
“We don’t have any long-term commitment. It’s just us trying to get to know each other in Paris a little bit.”
Djokovic returns to Paris next weekend as the defending French Open champion but looking to improve his clay court game after an inconsistent spell.
He parted with long-time coach Marian Vajda earlier this month, having also ended a three-year relationship with six-time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker at the end of last season, in a bid to get back to his brilliant best.
Given his performances of late, he will be hoping 47-year-old Agassi, an eight-time Grand Slam champion who won the 1999 French Open title, can make a positive contribution.
The Serbian was outplayed by Spanish nemesis Rafael Nadal on his way to defeat in the semi-finals of the Madrid Masters last week.
And despite reaching the final in Rome on Sunday, Djokovic looked well below his clinical best before losing to German starlet Zverev in 1hr 21min.
Next up is his defence of his title in the French capital, and Djokovic added: “He [Agassi] will not stay the whole tournament. He’s gonna stay only to a certain time, and then we’ll see after that what’s gonna happen.
“Obviously, Andre is someone that I have tremendous respect for as a person and as a player. He has been through everything that I’m going through.”
Agassi has been away from the sport for a considerable time having retired in 2006.
In the WTA event at the Italian Open, Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina continued her brilliant season with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 upset win over injury-hit Simona Halep.