Boris Becker: Andre Agassi has all the 'good factors' to succeed as Novak Djokovic's coach
KEY POINTS
- Agassi was appointed as Djokovic's coach in late May.
- The Serbian is gearing up for his return to action since last featuring at Wimbledon.
Tennis legend Boris Becker has backed Andre Agassi to succeed as Novak Djokovic's coach as the Serbian prepares to make his comeback ahead of the 2018 season.
The 30-year-old started 2017 as the number two-ranked player in the world behind Andy Murray as he began his campaign with a win over the Briton in Doha.
Things started to go downhill for Djokovic as his poor form and injury problems prompted a coaching shake-up. He partnered with Agassi in late May, hoping that a new coach would change his fortunes.
But despite winning the Eastbourne title under Agassi, injuries continued to hinder Djokovic as his last appearance came at Wimbledon in July where he retired early in his quarter-final match with Tomas Berdych due to an elbow injury.
He later announced that he would take time off until the new season to heal as he dropped to 16th in the world rankings and ended his year winning just two ATP titles, having previously won at least six titles every year since 2010.
The 12-time Grand Slam winner, however, is ready to return, and will feature in the Mubadala World Tennis Championships exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi, which takes place from 28-30 December.
He will then look to start his year on a high with a victory in the 2018 Australian Open and Becker believes he has a good chance of doing it with Agassi as his coach.
"Agassi is a very good man," Becker told Bild via Sport24.co.za. "In Melbourne you will already see a closer co-operation.
"Does Agassi have the potential to be a coach? Yes. Was he number one? Yes. Is he a Grand Slam winner? Yes. Does he have the character to tell Djokovic the truth? Yes. Is he economically dependent [on him]? No.
"These are good factors to see a coach working with a superstar."
