Inside the phone call that led to the Djokovic-Agassi dream team

PARIS—The star-studded partnership between 12-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and his coach, eight-time Grand Slam champion Andre Agassi, started with a friendly phone call from Djokovic.

"The reason why I have asked for his number is so I could call him and thank him for being so supportive of me and my game always, also in these times when I received a lot of criticism," Djokovic told press at Roland Garros. "He was always there and tried talking, praises and positive about me in general, which I appreciated very much. So I just wanted to let him know that I feel that way.

"After that, it evolved into a conversation that went for, you know, 45 minutes. You start talking about everything. Just, you know, one of these things where you feel, you know. You don't think with your mind so much, where you just feel that certain things are matching and certain people are matching, and just it felt so natural, felt so spontaneous."

The pair spoke on the phone frequently for a couple of weeks before Djokovic, who recently split with his coaching team, announced that Agassi would be coaching him at the French Open.

"So here we are, you know," said Djokovic. "In person, and also when we are in distance, doesn't matter, you know. We are still in touch daily, talk, and he has so much input, so much valuable, wise things to share with me that I can use in every day.

"I'm very honored to have him."

Andy Murray revealed that he had considered Agassi as his next coach after splitting Ivan Lendl, but the American did not want to spend a significant amount of time traveling on tour. Murray reunited with Ivan Lendl in 2016, when he grabbed the No. 1 ranking from Djokovic.

“I loved watching him play when I was a kid,” Murray said of Agassi. “And then also when I first came on the tour, I started working with [former coach] Brad Gilbert, who obviously coached him for a long time.

"I had the chance to spend a bit of time with Andre, went out for a couple of dinners with him. Got to practice with him a few times. He was always really, really nice to me, which is great, because obviously when it's someone you have looked up to, if they weren't, that would be, a bit of a letdown.

 But he was very, very nice to me, and I think it's great that he's back in the game."

Murray believes that Agassi can lift Djokovic's game, which has stagnated since he won his first French Open last year. The Serb has not won a tournament since the beginning of the season in Doha, but he did reach the final of the Rome Masters two weeks ago.

"Any of the past champions, when they are involved, I think for the media it's great. I think for the other players to see them around is nice," said Murray. "It creates a bit of a buzz around tennis. He's obviously got a lot of fans around the world.

"He'll help Novak... having someone with that much experience around can only help."

Djokovic and Murray have won their first two matches at the French Open.

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