Novak Djokovic partnered up with Andre Agassi in May 2017 and people felt it was a ‘dream team’. The Serbian was struggling at that time and hadn’t won a Grand Slam since the French Open in 2016. Adding Andre Agassi to the team felt like a perfect decision at the time but soon it ended up as a nightmare. The pair went there separate ways after a year together after a few disagreements regarding the handling of an elbow injury.
Djokovic was suffering a serious elbow injury in 2017 and even contemplating retirement after disappointing results in Grand Slams. Agassi and Djokovic reached had a disagreement over the course of action to remedy the elbow and that was the last straw in their short tenure together. The pair parted way in April 2018.
Novak Djokovic and Andre Agassi reach an impasse over injury
Novak Djokovic was going through his toughest time as a tennis player in 2017. After not having won a Grand Slam since French Open in 2016, the Serbian was suffering from a serious elbow injury which kept him out of the game for a few months. Djokovic then teamed up with multiple Grand Slam winner and a tennis legend, Andre Agassi in May 2017 in the hope of reestablishing his career.
Agassi knew a thing or two about comebacks as the American had to make a way back from depths of despair in his career. The former world number 1 had a collapse of his own in 1996 which worsened in 1997 due to a wrist injury. Agassi has written in his autobiography that he started taking crystal methamphetamine in 1997 to overcome depression. The American came back to his best under Brad Gilbert and won the US Open in 1999.
This duo was supposed to get Djokovic back to his best, but Agassi-Djokovic never really clicked. Agassi and Djokovic couldn’t agree on the healing process of the Serbian’s elbow injury. Djokovic wanted a natural healing of the injury while Agassi was adamant that the Serbian should undergo an elbow surgery.
The pair didn’t see eye to eye during the whole process and started to drift apart. Agassi mentioned that the MRI results were a clear indication that Djokovic needed a surgery but he couldn’t force that decision on him.
“I only knew him with a hurt elbow, so it was always plasters and big problems. I think there was a real hope his elbow could heal naturally, holistically. I personally wasn’t a fan of that choice. You can’t force someone when it comes to their own body. When I saw the results of his MRIs in August, I was very clear with him: I advocated surgery right away, because that could end the issue once and for all.”
Djokovic eventually did agree on getting an elbow surgery but the relationship between the duo was already affected. The post surgery process was long and tedious too and the strain between the duo increased before Djokovic decided to part ways.
Djokovic and Agassi ‘agreed to disagree’
Novak Djokovic was hoping for a good comeback post his elbow surgery but was delt a blow after his successive first-round defeats at Indian Wells and the Miami Open. The Serbian announced a break from tennis and went on a family vacation, where he thought about retiring from tennis. The duo of Djokovic and Agassi worked on different serving motions so that the Serbian can ease back in post the surgery.
The suggestions made by Agassi were not easily accepted by Djokovic and the duo ‘agreed to disagree’ a lot. Novak Djokovic likes to control things his own way and be in command of the situation, especially with something related to his body and fitness. Hence, it was not easy for the Serbian to mend his ways post surgery. Agassi felt that he was not helping Djokovic to improve his game and the duo parted ways in less than a year.
Novak Djokovic has enjoyed incredible success since then with his new team and went on to win 12 Grand Slam titles since 2017. The Serbian is the player with most men’s Grand Slams in tennis history with 24.
