Novak Djokovic, beneath the watchful eye of former coach and eight-time Grand Slam champion Andre Agassi, was made to work onerous for his opening-round win on the 2024 Australian Open on Sunday.
Taking over qualifier Dino Prizmic, the Serb battled on Rod Laver Enviornment for practically 4 hours (three hours and 59 minutes) earlier than prevailing 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 in entrance of a vociferous Melbourne crowd.
Talking at his on-court interview afterwards, the World No. 1 was requested if he observed four-time winner Agassi within the stands, to which he answered within the affirmative.
Djokovic, beaming because the cameras focussed on the American, thanked Agassi for gracing his match and the Australian Open together with his presence on the night time. He went on to joke about how one of many returns he made within the fourth set reminded him of Agassi, just for him to lose three straight video games after that second.
Agassi, together with the gang, started to chortle on the remark, following which the 24-time Grand Slam champion rapidly famous that it was not his fault. Djokovic smilingly added that he simply needed to indicate the eight-time Main winner how his presence overwhelmed him.
“Of course [I noticed him]. Andre, great to have you, thank you so much for gracing us and the Australian Open with your presence. We haven’t seen you in years. Actually, 4-0 and deuce and I made a forehand winner, I smiled at you and I said, ‘It’s almost like your return,'” Novak Djokovic mentioned.
“After that I lost three games in a row, not your fault, my fault. I lost my focus, but you know, I was inspired by your presence and overwhelmed to see you. Thanks for coming out,” he added.
“I definitely see a few more years of Novak Djokovic being the one that has to be dealt with” – Andre Agassi
Talking in a latest interview throughout his time in Melbourne, Andre Agassi predicted that Novak Djokovic will stay the person to beat for a number of extra years at the very least, joking that the one opponent the Serb can’t beat is Father Time.
“The only thing I’m absolutely convinced about is Novak will not beat Father Time. It’s just a question of how long you can postpone it. I definitely see a few more years of him being the one that has to be dealt with,” Andre Agassi told The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.
“How can you say something isn’t possible? Records are meant to be broken, right? Obviously we’re just speculating on so many things, which includes health, and that’s going to start to rear its head,” he added.
In the meantime, the World No. 1 will tackle both Marc Polmans or Alexei Popyrin within the second spherical of the 2024 Australian Open.
