What’s the Story?
Following months of speculation, World No. 2 Novak Djokovic has confirmed that he will be coached by former No. 1 Andre Agassi. The 8-time Grand Slam winning American will join Djokovic in Paris ahead of the upcoming French Open, the Serbian ace confirmed today following his loss to Alexander Zverev at the finals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
In Case You Didn’t Know...
Djokovic parted ways with his former coach Boris Becker after the conclusion of the 2016 season, and only two weeks ago decided to end his relationship with his core coaching team – among them his long-term coach – and primary one following Becker’s departure, Marian Vajda, in addition to his phyisotherapist, with player and team saying the decision was by “mutual consent.”
The former World No. 1, who has 12 Grand Slam titles to his name, still however retains the services of controversial ‘love guru’ Pepe Imaz, who preaches ‘love and hugs.’ As he stays devoid of a team until Agassi joins him, Djokovic has been hitting with his brother Marko Djokovic, a tennis professional himself.
Heart of the Matter
After splitting with Becker, Djokovic still continued to work with Vajda – and the remainder of his core team, but with struggling form despite any new moves he took, the player took the decision to part ways with the entire team.
While many players have done well without a coach – and at Djokovic’s level, he may not necessarily need a full-time coach, the player has missed out on the valuable input from an external, experienced party that could help him return to his old level of gameplay.
Djokovic has been struggling more mentally than physically, a fact he alluded to in a number of interviews towards the end of the 2016 season; halfway through that season was when the former World No. 1 began his decline, with repeated losses early in tournaments and to unexpected players. Given he was then No. 1, perhaps any loss to junior players was ‘unexpected.’
After months of speculation about Djokovic looking for – or having spoken to – a ‘supercoach’ the star confirmed following his Italian Open final loss that he would be bringing on 8-time Grand Slam winner Andre Agassi, with the American commencing coaching duties from the French Open.
Hard-court specialist and four-time Australian Open winner Agassi is considered one of the best returners in the history of the game, and retired a decade ago in 2006. He has since worked with charitable organizations and the tennis academy he runs with his wife, 22-time Grand Slam winner Steffi Graf.
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