Djokovic looks to Agassi for coaching
ROME— Andre Agassi will be Novak Djokovic’s coach at the French Open, Djokovic announced Sunday.
Agassi, 47, who won eight Grand Slam titles in his career but has never coached before, has largely stayed away from the tour since his retirement in 2006, though he has occasionally played in exhibition events with other retired players.
The pairing was first reported during the local broadcast of the Italian Open final, which Djokovic lost, 6-4, 6-3, to Alexander Zverev.
The French Open begins next Sunday.
“That’s what I wanted to let you guys know: I spoke to Andre the last couple weeks on the phone, and we decided to get together in Paris,” Djokovic said after the match. “So he’s going to be there. We’ll see what future brings. We are both excited to work together and see where it takes us. We don’t have any long-term commitment. It’s just us trying to get to know each other in Paris a little bit. He will not stay the whole tournament. He’s going to stay only to a certain time, and then we’ll see after that what’s going to happen.”
Djokovic, who turns 30 on Monday, has struggled since winning the French Open last year, which completed a run of four titles in Grand Slam tournaments. After parting with his first high-profile coach, Boris Becker, at the end of last season, Djokovic cleaned out the rest of his long-standing team early this month, parting with his longtime coach Marian Vajda as well as fitness coach Gebhard Phil Gritsch and physiotherapist Miljan Amanovic.
Agassi could not be immediately reached for comment.
Djokovic said he had been talking to Agassi, whom he called a “revolutionary player because he had this charisma,” for only a few weeks. In that time, the two, whose profession- al careers only briefly overlapped, became acquainted.
“I don’t know Andre that well, because it’s only a couple weeks that we are in communication, let’s say,” Djokovic said. “But I already feel like we are very kind of close to each other and creating this nice vibe.”
At the Italian Open, Djokovic was coached by his younger brother, Marko, a former player. Djokovic has also travelled with Pepe Imaz, a former player from Spain who preaches a philosophical “love and peace” mantra. Imaz, who reached a careerhigh ranking of 146, did not bring nearly the cachet of Agassi.
“Obviously Andre is someone that I have tremendous respect for as a person and as a player,” Djokovic said. “He has been through everything that I’m going through. On the court, he understands the game amazingly well. I am enjoying every conversation that I have with him. But also, on the other hand, he’s someone that nurtures the family values, philanthropy work. He’s a very humble man, is very educated — he’s a person that can contribute to my life on and off the court a lot. I’m very excited to see what is ahead of us.”