Andre Agassi has claimed that Novak Djokovic needs “fear or anger” to drive him on the tennis court. Djokovic has cemented himself as the GOAT, winning 24 Grand Slam titles and 40 Masters 1000s, spending 428 weeks at No. 1, and claiming Olympic gold. But Agassi, who coached Djokovic from May 2017 to April 2018, believes that the Serbian superstar needed to face adversity to become a champion.
Insight from The Wolf in Winter
Speaking in Djokovic’s new Prime Video documentary, The Wolf in Winter, Agassi gave a revealing insight into the world No. 5’s mind as he opened up on their brief time together. And the eight-time Major winner isn’t the only one who believes Djokovic needs to go to a “dark” place to be successful, as the 39-year-old’s own wife shared her perspective on his stubborn nature.
“When I coached him, I really lifted up the hood of what makes him tick. He wants to be kind, he wants to care, he wants to be open, he wants to receive, but he can’t win when he allows his heart to go there,” Agassi said. “I was surprised how dark he needed to feel to get the most out of himself. For Novak to do his job, he needed fear or anger, because with love or appreciation, he lost his fangs.”
Hostile Crowds and Motivation
Djokovic often finds another gear when he falls out with crowds. At the 2015 US Open, he beat Roger Federer in a hostile atmosphere in the final. In recent years, he’s taunted the Wimbledon crowd. After beating Holger Rune in the fourth round in 2024, the world No. 5 thought some fans had been booing him, though others argued that they had been chanting “Ruuuune”. And Djokovic told them: “To all those people who have chosen to disrespect the player, in this case me, have a gooood night.”
And the Olympic champion seemed to agree with Agassi’s assessment. “That’s definitely a factor that motivates me, yeah. If the crowd starts going against me, I do use that to awaken that warrior inside of me. It’s called inat,” he said, referring to a Serbian concept of proud stubbornness.
Family and Expert Views
Djokovic’s wife of 12 years, Jelena, explained: “It’s embedded in our culture. We have this stubbornness in spite of whatever people say. So in spite of crowds cheering against him, he showed up with his best game and still managed to win.” And Djokovic’s desire to prove hostile crowds wrong runs so deep that former world No. 1 Jim Courier believes that he goes out of his way to find even one small voice cheering against him.
“Novak plays best in a slight state of agitation,” he said. “So there might be one fan who says something that he doesn’t like, and he will make a point to win the match, and instead of turning to his team and celebrating, turn and point at the agitators in the stands.”
Whatever it is that has motivated him, Djokovic has achieved virtually everything possible in the sport – and he still isn’t done yet. In his documentary, the 39-year-old admitted he didn’t know how long he’d keep playing, but wanted to stay out on the court for as long as he felt he could compete with the other top players.
