Former World No. 1 and Wimbledon champion has emerged as the surprised as the surprise candidate to take over Novak Djokovic's coach, The Daily Telegraph reported on Monday.
Earlier this month, World No 2 Novak Djokovic parted company with his coaching team in a bid to halt a run of poor results, before he hinted in his pre-tournament press conference in Madrid that he is looking for another so-called supercoach.
"It [the next coach] is going to be someone that has been through similar experiences like I have. Not too many people in the past in tennis have managed to get to that stage and play at that level, so I’ll see,"
Djokovic's agent, Edoardo Artaldi, said on Monday night that no decision had yet been made.
"At this point there is no name to be singled out as this is just an initial stage of discussion with interested parties," he was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph.
But it is believed that the process may be more advanced than Djokovic and his agent are acknowledging.
A winner of 12 Grand Slam titles, the Serb has suffered a noticeable dip in form since winning his maiden French Open last June, relinquishing top spot in the ATP rankings to Briton Andy Murray five months later.
He made a shock second-round exit at the Australian Open to Uzbek Denis Istomin, followed by successive defeats to Australia's Nick Kyrgios in Acapulco and Indian Wells, before being beaten by Belgian David Goffin in Monte Carlo.
Last week, the 29-year-old announced that he would part ways with his coach Marian Vajda, fitness coach Gebhard Phil Gritsch, and physiotherapist Miljan Amanovic.
Djokovic added that he would take his time before naming a new head coach.
"I feel like this is a new chapter in my life," he said.
"My career was always on the upward path and this time I'm experiencing how it is when the path takes you in a different direction.
"I have been on the tour long enough to know how to manage daily routines and I don't want to rush my decision."
Image: Andre Agassi, left, with Novak Djokovic.
Photograph: Daniel Munoz/Reuters
