<p>Andre Agassi revealed on Thursday that his wife and fellow tennis legend Steffi Graf encouraged him to become Novak Djokovic's new coach after he had originally turned down the job.<br /><br />The 47-year-old Agassi will work with Djokovic at the forthcoming French Open where the Serbian star is the defending champion.<br /><br />But the eight-time Grand Slam title winner, who has kept his distance from professional tennis since retiring in 2006, said he will only be in Paris for a few rounds and that the partnership with Djokovic will not be a full-time post.<br /><br />"Novak called me about three weeks ago and I said no at the start," Agassi, the 1999 Roland Garros champion, told French television programme Tout le Sport.<br /><br />"But my wife (Steffi Graf) said 'you should go, you will love it'. We had organised a family trip during Roland Garros anyway which was planned for a long time.<br /><br />"So I hope to see one or two of Novak's matches and try to bring to him what I can because even a small remark can do a lot.<br /><br />"What I know, with certainty, is that he can be even better than yesterday. I think he can only improve, because he understands how strong he is."<br /><br />Agassi and Djokovic practiced for the first time at Roland Garros on Thursday but the American insisted that he was not in the market for a full-time job.<br /><br />"The only agreement we have is for Paris, and given our discussions, it's not a full-time job for me," he added. <br /><br />Djokovic revealed that a chance telephone call sparked his decision to hire Agassi.<br />Djokovic said he originally only sought out Agassi's contact details so he could thank him for his support as his career threatened to hit the skids earlier this year.<br /><br />"It turned out to be a long conversation, and that's where it all started. At that time, at that point, we both didn't think about this evolving to become a professional relationship, but finally, after a few weeks, it did. It was completely up to him,” said Djokovic.<br /><br /></p>
<p>Andre Agassi revealed on Thursday that his wife and fellow tennis legend Steffi Graf encouraged him to become Novak Djokovic's new coach after he had originally turned down the job.<br /><br />The 47-year-old Agassi will work with Djokovic at the forthcoming French Open where the Serbian star is the defending champion.<br /><br />But the eight-time Grand Slam title winner, who has kept his distance from professional tennis since retiring in 2006, said he will only be in Paris for a few rounds and that the partnership with Djokovic will not be a full-time post.<br /><br />"Novak called me about three weeks ago and I said no at the start," Agassi, the 1999 Roland Garros champion, told French television programme Tout le Sport.<br /><br />"But my wife (Steffi Graf) said 'you should go, you will love it'. We had organised a family trip during Roland Garros anyway which was planned for a long time.<br /><br />"So I hope to see one or two of Novak's matches and try to bring to him what I can because even a small remark can do a lot.<br /><br />"What I know, with certainty, is that he can be even better than yesterday. I think he can only improve, because he understands how strong he is."<br /><br />Agassi and Djokovic practiced for the first time at Roland Garros on Thursday but the American insisted that he was not in the market for a full-time job.<br /><br />"The only agreement we have is for Paris, and given our discussions, it's not a full-time job for me," he added. <br /><br />Djokovic revealed that a chance telephone call sparked his decision to hire Agassi.<br />Djokovic said he originally only sought out Agassi's contact details so he could thank him for his support as his career threatened to hit the skids earlier this year.<br /><br />"It turned out to be a long conversation, and that's where it all started. At that time, at that point, we both didn't think about this evolving to become a professional relationship, but finally, after a few weeks, it did. It was completely up to him,” said Djokovic.<br /><br /></p>