In an illuminating interview with Novak Djokovic's former coach, Djokovic's current - or possibly interim - coach explained that he's been working for the world No. 2 pro bono at Roland Garros.
"I do it on my own time, I do it on my own dime," Andre Agassi told Boris Becker on Friday. "I don't want anything. I want to help him. And it helps the game. Him at his best is good for the game, and it's a way I can contribute, hopefully."
Agassi's coaching arrangement was only for the first week of the French Open, but Djokovic left the door open for future collaboration if the feeling-out process proved fruitful. Agassi says he's open to continuing the partnership at Wimbledon.
"If he wants me there, yeah," Agassi said. "I will come and figure it out. It's a lot of responsibility, but whatever's practical and achievable, 100 percent I will make that effort."
The eight-time Slam champ has been focused on his charitable foundations and charter school since retiring from playing in 2006, and was initially reluctant to coach. He said he proposed a setup where he could help Djokovic over the phone, before his wife, Steffi Graf, encouraged him to go to Paris and "just get to know him."
Djokovic obviously made an impression, and Agassi called him a "very inspirational guy for me."
Becker, who coached Djokovic for three of the most successful seasons of his career before they split in December, asked what Agassi has been working on with his former disciple.
The answer: it's all about ramping up his offense.
"For me, it's simple," Agassi said. "His game is built on controlling the baseline, and his game is built on executing to big targets. He's not a guy that plays precisely to the lines. He's a guy that throws body blow after body blow after body blow. And he's just never thought a lot about the other side of the court. So I think there's ways he can take his game, at 30 years old and older - because hopefully he's going to still want to play for a while - and then he can start to make it easier for himself by knowing what he should do with the guy across the net."
Djokovic made it through to the second week with a tougher-than-it-should've-been win over Diego Schwartzman on Friday, and Agassi is now leaving Paris. Will we see them reunite in London?
