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Novak Djokovic wins Australian Open 2020

‘Novak Djokovic is always looking to get agitated,’ says Andre Agassi


Andre Agassi says Novak Djokovic is ‘always looking to get agitated’ and that is the reason they parted ways.

Agassi joined Djokovic’s coaching team in 2017 and took over as the head coach a year later, but it was a short-lived arrangement.

The pair seemed to clash and results were poor, and Agassi claims he is happy how it worked out as it enabled Djokovic to return to his roots and rediscover his identity.

“He is always looking to get agitated on a tennis court,” Agassi told the Hindu Times in an interview.

“I might have poked the bear a little harder and a little sooner.

“Me challenging him to stop working with him, to give him a reason to prove something. He went back to his roots – like ‘Rocky’ – his fight. That’s what he needed.

“What Novak needed was a reason to fight and care. He did not lose his game overnight. Lots of information he needed to process for a while.”


Michael Graham, Tennishead.net Editor, has been a professional sports journalist for his whole career and is especially passionate about tennis. He's been the Editor of Tennishead.net for over 5 years and loves watching live tennis by visiting as many tournaments as possible. Michael specialises in writing in-depth features about the ATP & WTA tours.