12-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic has revealed that it was his coach Andre Agassi, who suggested him to hire former top-ten player Radek Stepanek as his assistant coach for the 2018 season. While the American will help Novak mostly at the Majors, the Czech will assist him during the other events on the ATP tour.
Djokovic said: “Radek is one of my very close friends on the tour and I was always impressed with his level of determination, passion and love for the sport. The fact that he just recently retired at the age of 37 speaks volumes of his love for the game.”
“He has lot of experience and knowledge, and he has played on a high level for many years. I am excited to join our forces together and cannot wait to compete again having a new team to back me up.”
“On Andre’s suggestion I pursued Radek, therefore I am sure the two of them will work well together. The new season is about to start and there is a long way to go back to where I left off. We are aware that I need to go step-by-step, not hurrying anything.”
“I feel much better now, and I can’t wait to play matches again,” said Djokovic, who will open his new season at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, followed by the Qatar Open in Doha and the Australian Open in Melbourne, while the schedule for the remainder of the season is yet to be finalized.
Talking about his new association with Djokovic, Stepanek said: “I’m honored to be a new member of Novak’s team. It is a new and exciting challenge for me, which I’m looking forward to and I believe that as a team we can help Nole to reach his goals. As longtime friends off the tennis court, I believe that our friendship and similar views will translate onto the court as well, and we will share some memorable moments together.”
