Bill Simons
An uncertainty hovers over tennis. After a golden age of grand but often predictable results, earthshaking change lurks.
Serena, Venus, Sharapova, Angelique Kerber and Vika Azarenka all have issues. Federer won the first big three tourneys this year, but the 36-year-old is sitting out the French Open. Andy Murray is slumping and, off of clay, it’s been a good while since Nadal has prevailed.
And another notable change: Novak Djokovic fired his entire support team and hired none other than Andre Agassi.
Of course, coaching match-ups are one of the delicious delights of tennis. The compelling dance of savvy sages trying to guide head-strong stars can be intriguing.
Okay, some players like James Blake have a single coach for much of their career. Monogamy works in marriage, but less so in sports. Free-wheeling Nick Krygios was the only player in the top 100 without a coach until he took on Sebastian Grosjean part-time recently.
Some coaching relationships don’t even get out of the gate. Sharapova walked away from from her partnership with Jimmy Connors after a single tournament.
Federer’s early decisions on who would coach him were critical and laid essential foundations. But now he says he asks very little of his coaches.
Some coaching duos thrive. Down-in-the-dumps American Serena Williams went to the debonair and tennis-wise Frenchman Patrick Mouratoglou after hitting rock bottom in 2012 with a first-round loss at the French Open. A month later she won Wimbledon. Then she went on to collect nine more Slams under Mouratoglou’s tutelage. And yes, she had a romance with the Frenchman.
Often a player and his coach seem to be cut from the same cloth. Both Murray and his mentor Ivan Lendl are fierce baseline competitors who seem severe, even sullen, on court, while showing ample and wicked wit off court. Similarly, the bald Agassi and the shorn Djokovic appear to be mirror images.
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Pete Sampras once said, “I’m just a tennis player – nothing more, nothing less.” Straightforward Pistol Pete emerged from the “Just the facts, ma’am” side of tennis. In contrast, both Djokovic and his brand new coach are restless, complex characters – nuanced seekers, not completely comfortable in their skins. (Editor’s note: And that’s not such a bad thing.)
On court, Andre and Nole have stunning similarities. Both have been the best baseliners of their eras. Both are blessed with blazing two-handed backhands that are, along with Murray’s, among the best in history. And their fierce (“Take that!”) return of serves are the best since Connors’.
Off court, by American standards, both of their families are rooted in outbacks. Agassi’s dad traces his heritage to Iran and Armenia, which endured a holocaust. Djokovic is from Serbia, which has seen one battle after another, including the not-that-long-ago Balkans War. Tennis lore tells us that Novak practiced down-the-line backhands as NATO bombs rained down nearby. Both were shipped off as teens to tennis factories, in Florida and Germany respectively, and their families invested much of their hopes in them, depending on them to bring their clan’s wealth.
Both Novak and Andre have enjoyed being the foremost showmen of their era. It’s no accident that both now call home the two glitziest gambling meccas in the world – Vegas and Monte Carlo.
Both adore the stage and love to delight. For Andre, image was everything. As for Novak, has there ever been a No. 1 player who was a greater comic and ham? His bend-from-the-waist, four-corner salute to crowds after big wins is just like Andre’s original homage to the adoring throng.
Clearly women have played an outsized role in both of their lives. Novak’s foundational coach was a woman – Jelena Gencic. Strong women – Streisand, Brooke Shields and Stefanie Graf – have long been at Andre’s side. Is it that surprising that both the American and the Serb are sensitive souls? And, perhaps because of the assorted dramas they’ve faced, both have made notable commitments to kids. Djokovic has a great foundation, while Andre’s charity has raised over $60 million. No one in tennis history has done more for children after his career than Andre. A high school dropout, he now backs 72 schools.
Yet, despite all their success and swagger, and their combined 19 Grand Slams, both Andre and Novak have suffered from a certain and rather understandable uneasiness.
Agassi navigated a tumultuous youth. His dad bitterly complained that he was robbed of a gold medal in Olympic boxing and shortly thereafter left his Tehran apartment, which housed 13 family members, to come to Chicago, where he landed with less than a thousand dollars in his pocket. Eventually he made it to Vegas and was a greeter at a casino. Crazed about tennis, he hung tennis balls over his son’s crib, and shipped Andre cross-country to work on his game. It worked – and by his mid-20s Andre was a world-famous star who wore toupées that faltered at key moments. But, Andre would never surpass his smooth nemesis – that Pistol Pete fellow who so often called on his confident power.
Similarly, Novak, with all his superb but slightly mechanical craftsmanship, has a game that can never approach the appeal of Rafa’s raw force or the balletic beauty of Mr. Grace, Roger Federer. Lord knows, for all he has done and will do, Novak will almost certainly forever be in the shadow of two of the game’s most charismatic icons.
More than this, Agassi and Djokovic have both endured self-destructive decisions. Andre, in the middle of a seemingly wonderful career, used crystal meth. Last June, Novak at last won the French Open and scored a career Grand Slam. But suddenly and inexplicably he found himself flooded with doubts and demons, and made serious personal errors. Djokovic explained, “It all caused me to feel a little bit of unbalance, a little bit shaken. I had to redefine everything.”
Still, Novak – a man whose thoughts have always been as flexible as his incredibly limber joints – should have plenty to draw on. While Agassi evolved from a frosted flake who’d swigged down far too much Jack Daniels into a giving sage, thanks to plenty of therapy, the insightful counsel of his trainer Gil Reyes and a splendid marriage to Steffi Graf, Djokovic similarly has long been a pilgrim of the spirit. The world No. 2 is as comfortable with Coptic Christian monks as he is at Buddhist temples. He’s spoken of his desire to learn Mandarin, he uses an esoteric oxygen tank therapy and he listens closely to a shadowy Spanish guru-type who used to play on the circuit. And, of course, we know of no other tennis player who has written a book on the importance of a gluten-free diet.
While people imagine Agassi as the Governor of Nevada or the Secretary of Education, Serbians quietly whisper that someday Novak should be their President.
For now, “Just the facts ma’am” fans wonder whether the visions of two of tennis’ most curious and restless souls will align. Some say chemistry is the most overrated quality in sports. We disagree.
So will world-wise Agassi – a brilliant tactician who stole time from his foes and still has a glint in his eyes – spark something magical in his new student? All power to the imagination!
Long after he’s retired, can Andre succeed in his coaching debut? And will Novak be able to grind through the always gritty French Open draw, where in a little less than two weeks he may well meet the king of clay, Rafa Nadal, in the semis, as he seeks to reach the winners circle, like he did last year?
In other words, will we ultimately be able to celebrate a grand tale of two pilgrims’ progress? Stay tuned.
