When 12-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic announced that tennis legend Andre Agassi would be coaching him last May, many thought that it was a match made in heaven. Djokovic had struggled mightily since 2016, so pairing with Agassi seemed like a perfect fit. Unfortunately for Djokovic, it apparently wasn't to be, as Agassi and Djokovic announced their split over the weekend amid Djokovic's continued struggles.
During his career, Agassi suffered a collapse of his own that started in 1996 and only worsened in '97, which included a persistent wrist injury. He wrote in his autobiography, Open, that he threw a match in the 1996 Australian Open to avoid playing Boris Becker, and started doing crystal methamphetamine in 1997. In '98, Agassi returned to his old dominance and won the French Open in '99.
All of this to say, Agassi knows a thing or 10 about coming back from adversity, and Djokovic could use the help. Djokovic has been hampered by an elbow injury that he received surgery for in January after making it to the fourth round of the Australian Open, where he lost in straight sets to Hyeon Chung. The 30-year-old parted from his previous team in 2017, including coach Marian Vajda -- who had coached him since 2006 -- and joined with Agassi and Radek Stepanek in May.
Less than a year later, the team has dissolved, once again leaving Djokovic in limbo. Djokovic seemed primed for a comeback. On March 3, less than two months after his surgery, Djokovic announced he was practicing again. He then played at Indians Wells, suffering a Round 1 loss to Taro Daniel. The last straw apparently came after a first-round defeat to Benoit Paire at the Miami Open. Djokovic's last Grand Slam win was the 2016 French Open.
After their split, Agassi wasn't hostile toward Djokovic, but he certainly didn't make it a secret that the two would butt heads from time to time. Per the New York Times, Agassi said: "With only the best intentions I tried to help Novak. We far too often found ourselves agreeing to disagree. I wish him only the best moving forward."
Djokovic was slightly less amicable toward Agassi in his announcement, which came via a statement on his website Wednesday. All emphasis comes via the statement itself.
After Miami Novak Djokovic and his tennis coach Radek Stepanek decided to end their cooperation.
The private relationship with Stepanek was and will remain great, and Novak has enjoyed working with him and learning from him.
He remains grateful and appreciative of all the support he has received from Radek during the last period.
Novak remains focused and eager to come back stronger and more resilient from long injury break that has affected his confidence and game.
He is continuously and passionately looking for new and different ways to regain winning form.
Djokovic will upon his short holiday with a family start his preparations for the clay season and upcoming tournaments.
The cooperation between Novak and Andre Agassi has also ended.
Making a main part of your coaching staff a footnote is quite the power move.
Perhaps Djokovic still rehabbing from his surgery. But a player with his injury history on the wrong side of 30 might well find himself "agreeing to disagree" with other coaches in the not-so-distant future.
