Boris Becker had kept his ear to the ground, so he didn’t stop in his tracks when he heard that Novak Djokovic will have Andre Agassi in his box when he begins the defence of his French Open title next week. 
“It doesn’t come a surprise,” Djokovic’s former coach says. “I’ve heard the name for a while. I look at information from Novak and his team and I am close with him. I applaud the decision. I think it’s an excellent choice.”
The announcement came after Djokovic’s one-sided defeat to the exciting young German, Alexander Zverev, in the final of the Italian Open on Sunday.
It was a match that Djokovic would have won a year ago, when it seemed that the rest of the tour was powerless to challenge his astonishing dominance, a view that was confirmed when the Serb finally completed his career slam by slapping Andy Murray around in the final at Roland Garros.
Twelve months on, however, Djokovic arrives in Paris still searching for his best form, despite hints of it returning in Rome last week, and bruised from the humbling turbulence which has seen him concede his No1 ranking to Murray, suffer early exits at Wimbledon and the Australian Open and descend into a funk that has left him vulnerable to threats from rising stars like Zverev.
On and off the court, Djokovic has looked spiritually troubled at times. But he has opted for ruthlessness in his quest for rejuvenation. The process of renewal began with him ending his three-year association with Becker in December and, when that move did not have the desired effect, he opted for the “shock therapy” of sacking his entire coaching team earlier this month, closing the chapter on a decade of relentless success.
The only man left standing is the mysterious Pepe Imaz, who is seen as more of a life coach than a technician. Hinting at tensions within the camp, Becker refused to speak about the Spaniard. 
“I know Novak for too long,” the German says. “I don’t think it’s right for an insider to speak about the whole picture. I’m happy Andre is there. The rest of the team is Novak’s decision.”
Becker is intrigued by the nascent partnership with Agassi, his old sparring partner. The arrangement might not extend beyond a few matches at the French Open. Agassi is a family man who might not fancy the rigours of a permanent role on the tour. Yet Becker believes the pair could hit it off in Paris. 
“Andre’s personality and character, his aura, the fact that he is involved in the Novak Djokovic foundation is very important, I think it’s an excellent fit,” he says. “Ideally I would have liked them to start in Monte Carlo and not for the first tournament to be in Roland Garros. It would have given them a bit more time to get used to each other.
“But I wish them all the luck in the world and hopefully they have a successful relationship. A lot depends on the next two weeks. But I know Andre very well. I think this could be a winning combination.”
Becker said the chance to work with Djokovic would have been too good to turn down. “It depends who calls,” he says. “Novak Djokovic is not anybody. He is one of the best of all time. I had a similar situation four years ago. He calls you, you want to pick up, you want to meet him and discuss tennis.”
As Becker discusses Djokovic’s tennis, he sees signs that the passion and fire is returning to his game. It disappeared after he won last year’s French Open. The warning signs were there at the start of the grass court season, culminating in Sam Querrey stunning Djokovic in the third round of Wimbledon.
“We played with Lucas Pouille,” Becker says. “There I could tell already something was a bit different than at the French Open. I was a player – you go through your emotions, you go through ups and downs and eventually you come back. With Novak it has taken a bit longer than I anticipated but I think he is in a good way now.
“He realised he had to change something. When you have such a long, successful career, not every year can be perfect. It’s called evolution, it’s called maturity. They have to fight themselves. Novak today is a different guy than when he was 20, he has different priorities. But deep down he loves tennis, he loves to compete, he loves to win and that will never change.”
Becker could be tempted back into coaching if a decent offer comes his way. For now, though, he is happy in his role as a Eurosport pundit. He does not hold back when the conversation turns to Murray’s worrying dip since becoming No1. 
“I like Andy, his coaching staff, but what I see on court I don’t like,” he says. “I don’t know what’s going on with him, I don’t think there was ever a time when a No1 went through such a phase. I was thinking before about the former No1s who all had a bad week or a bad month, or a bad couple of tournaments, but with him it’s been pretty much the whole year.
“I don’t think he’s one of the favourites. He should concentrate on getting through [to] the second week and really, in the back of his mind, think about the grass because that’s his best surface. But another early loss at the French would not be good for him.”

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