Andre Agassi sends Novak Djokovic a warning and some words of kindness
By Lee Vowell
Andre Agassi knew what it took to win Grand Slams. He brought home trophies from majors eight times, winning each major at least once. Like Novak Djokovic, Agassi was most success at the Australian Open as he won four times in Melbourne. After his career ended, the American coached the Serb for a short time. In the future, he will be the coach for Team World at the Laver Cup.
That started at the French Open in 2017 and ended in March of the next year. To be fair, that stretch of time was arguably Djokovic's worst of his career. He was injured midway through 2017 and missed the rest of the year. After returning early in 2018, the Serb only made the fourth round of the Australian Open. In other words, Agassi's coaching was not really helping Djokovic.
Still, fans know that Agassi has the tennis IQ to know what is needed to grind out victories at a major while also maintaining a high ranking. If he speaks about Djokovic or any other subject about his sport, the former ATP No. 1 knows what he is saying. At a recent event in Bengaluru, India, Agassi talked about the Serb and had a warning for him as well as some optimistic thoughts.
Andre Agassi has a warning for Novak Djokovic
Agassi told the audience, "It’s hard to say, Father Time always wins. (Djokovic has) already done so much, so long, and it’s hard to imagine longer. I think he’ll run out of the energy for it more than the capability of it, I would imagine...but I would never bet against him. Bet against him at your own peril."
The Serb did have his least successful year in tennis in 2024. He did not win a major for the first time since 2017, and that was the only year after 2010 that Djokovic did not win a Grand Slam until 2024. He has been seemingly bypassed by 23-year-old Jannik Sinner and 21-year-old Carlos Alcaraz. But he also may not care that much.
Djokovic only played in 10 events this season, and he has said he would rather focus on playing in majors and helping his native Serbia win international tournaments such as the Davis Cup. Eventually, he will stop playing and that could be as soon as next year.
We do have one thing to look forward to immediately, though. He will be coached at the Australian Open by long-time rival Andy Murray. Murray retired from playing professional tennis in July. Let's hope, though, that he can inspire the Serb to win at least one more major.