After coaching Andre Agassi to a Roland Garros title, ESPN tennis analyst Brad Gilbert believes his former charge has the tennis wisdom to do the same for defending champion Novak Djokovic.

Speaking on an ESPN conference call ahead of Roland Garros, the former No. 4 in the Emirates ATP Rankings shared his thoughts on the partnership. Although some have questioned how successful the new coaching arrangement will be, Gilbert said the similarities in their playing styles could spark a successful relationship.

“Andre played his best tennis from 29 on. Djokovic just turned 30. Today’s 30 is like 25 used to be,” said Gilbert. “A lot of times when I’m watching Djokovic, when he’s playing at his best, nobody plays closer to the style that Andre played. He hits big, but with safe margins in the court. He doesn’t hit a lot of winners, but hits very few unforced errors when he’s playing his best tennis.

“I think it’s really exciting that Andre is going to coach for the first time. A lot of players have approached him before. He brings an incredible amount of knowledge, wisdom and passion. It’s just getting to know each other at the start, but I think the potential is there for an exciting partnership.”

Gilbert also discussed the resurgence of Rafael Nadal, who remains an on-paper favourite to win his 10th title at Roland Garros. Although the Spaniard suffered his first loss on clay this year to Dominic Thiem at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, Gilbert doesn’t think the loss will hold much weight heading into Paris.

“He’s serving a lot better this year. He doesn’t have a massive serve, but his serve really sets up his game. I think his forehand looks as good as it has in the past two or three years,” he said. “He’s hitting a lot more aggressively and with more confidence. Those are two aspects of his game that really can lift him. He’s playing at an elite level again.”

Having also coached World No. 1 Andy Murray for 16 months from July 2006 to November 2007, Gilbert also believes last year’s Roland Garros finalist can’t be counted out. Although Murray is experiencing a dip in form on clay compared to his stellar 2016, Gilbert said the gritty play required to succeed in Paris is tailor made for Murray’s personality.

“He was dictating play a lot more last year on clay, especially with the forehand,” said Gilbert. “Having that balance between offence and defence has been an issue. But he has plenty of time to turn it around. He loves the fight. He’s not about the show and the bling. He loves the guts and working hard.

“I do think the resurgence of Roger Federer and Rafa will only inspire Novak and Andy. For years, Djoker and Murray were chasing them. Now it’s back to those guys chasing them again. I think this will inspire Andy to put a little fuel to the fire.”

The season of “La Décima” ascends to its final stage during the next two weeks, and the conquistador, Rafael Nadal, appears primed for more history. Nadal will go for a record 10^th title at Roland Garros, the season’s second Grand Slam, which starts Sunday.

He’s approaching unprecedented tennis history: No man or woman has won a Grand Slam title 10 times in the Open Era, since April 1968. But Nadal, who won Roland Garros crowns in 2005-08 and ’10-14, has already entered double digits at two tournaments this year.

The Spaniard captured his 10^th title at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters and at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. Two weeks ago, he also won his fifth Mutua Madrid Open crown. Nadal is feeling positive as he prepares in Paris this week.

“I feel at home because I have a great relationship with all the girls that are working here, with a lot of people that are running the event. It’s always good to see people that I have spent a lot of days in my life with,” said Nadal, who is making his 13^th consecutive appearance at the tournament. “I just say thanks to them for everything that they do for me, and I feel great every time that I have the chance to be back here and to see all of them.”

The 30 year old Nadal boasts a remarkable 72-2 record at Roland Garros. Only three times since 2005 has he not reached the title match, including last season when a left wrist injury forced him to withdraw prior to his third-round match against countryman Marcel Granollers.*

Nadal Through The Years At Roland Garros

But the draw certainly didn’t treat him like a nine-time champion. Nadal opens against Frenchman Benoit Paire, No. 45 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. The 28 year old beat World No. 3 and 2015 Roland Garros champion Stan Wawrinka in the third round of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters earlier this month.

Nadal leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 2-0 and both meetings came on clay – 2013 Madrid, 2013 Barcelona.

“He’s not an opponent you want to play against in the first round. He’s a player with big talent – great serve, great hands and a fantastic backhand. He’s a dangerous opponent,” Nadal said.

A year ago, the Spaniard also arrived at Roland Garros feeling positive. The left-hander had won his ninth title in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona and was again one of the top contenders to take the Roland Garros crown. But the nagging injury cut short his stay in Paris. “I hope that the story doesn’t repeat itself,” Nadal said, smiling.

This season, though, the Spaniard has more than returned to his best level. With the addition of former World No. 1 Carlos Moya to his team, Nadal has reached three hard-court finals and won three clay-court titles already this year.

On the red dirt, the left-hander is 17-1, with his only loss coming to Dominic Thiem in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia quarter-finals last week in Rome. Nadal beat Thiem in straight sets to win the Barcelona and Madrid titles.

“Since the beginning of the season I am happy with the way that I have played. I think I played well in almost every event… played well on hard. Then played great on clay,” Nadal said. “Here we are, another year, just trying to have the right days of practice before the competition starts. I know I need to be ready in the beginning because I have a tough opponent in the first round. So I am focused.”

Nadal could meet Thiem in the semi-finals. “I am very happy the way that I arrived here. Now I have to play well here. That’s all,” Nadal said.

Nadal On Clay In 2017

Novak Djokovic has a familiar face in his corner this week in the build-up to Roland Garros, which gets underway on Sunday. With his pigeon-toed walk, former World No. 1 Andre Agassi has been drafted in to help the Serbian recapture his peak form and confidence.

Agassi has returned to top-level tennis for the first time since retiring at the 2006 US Open and Djokovic, the defending champion in Paris, has been all smiles in recent days.

”It feels like a new chapter,” said Djokovic, who admitted to talking to Agassi on the phone after each match at the Mutua Madrid Open and Internazionali BNL d’Italia. “I was very glad that he accepted to come in person to Paris and spend some time together.”

“He’s someone that inspires me a lot,” said Djokovic. “That’s one of the things I felt like I needed is new inspiration, someone that knows exactly what I’m going through on the court [and] off the court. He has been through all these transitions, he has been in my shoes before playing Grand Slams, being the best in the world, and facing all the challenges that are present in tennis, in professional sport.”

”We can relate to each other in many different ways from many different sides. That’s why I’m very excited for him being here, because it’s a great opportunity for me to learn.”

Djokovic announced on 5 May that he had parted company with three long-time members of his team – coach Marian Vajda, fitness trainer Gebhard Phil Gritsch and physio Miljan Amanovic. Former World No. 1 Boris Becker stepped down as Djokovic’s coach at the end of 2016.

Having just turned 30, Djokovic is now hoping that Agassi can help him “rediscover what kind of approach is the right one.”

Agassi, who won two of his eight Grand Slam championship trophies over the age of 30, is back in familiar surroundings at the site of his 1999 triumph, when he completed a career Grand Slam. Last year, Djokovic became the eighth man in tennis history to win all four major titles with his first triumph at Roland Garros.

”Yesterday was obviously the first day, and we had two practise sessions together,” said Djokovic. “Then we had a very, very long conversation in the evening. Even though it was the first day, it felt like we knew each other for a very long time. We clicked and connected very fast.

”I was not rushing the process of getting a new coach, because I trust myself. I believe in my own abilities. I have been around long enough to know how to play tennis. So I gave it some time, and I was patient. Andre is a perfect fit for me now in every aspect. I’m trying to absorb as much of his wisdom and knowledge and experience that he tries to share with me.”

Djokovic begins his quest for a 13th Grand Slam championship crown against Spaniard Marcel Granollers. He’s been drawn in the same half of the draw as nine-time former titlist Rafael Nadal, who beat the World No. 2 in the Madrid semi-finals two weeks ago. “I definitely see him as probably the No. 1 favourite for this title… It’s definitely [going to be] an interesting edition of 2017 Roland Garros. It’s a long two weeks.”

Stan Wawrinka will attempt to retain his Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open title on Saturday when he faces German qualifier Mischa Zverev in the final. The Swiss star, who is tied 1-1 lifetime against Zverev in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, is aiming to lift the 16th tour-level trophy of his career.

Wawrinka improved to a 19-8 record on the season when he defeated Russia’s Andrey Kuznetsov 6-3, 7-6(4) in one hour and 39 minutes on Friday. He is 6-5 in clay-court finals and his last crown came in September 2016 at the US Open (d. Djokovic).

“The crowd has been great this week,” said Wawrinka. “They are very loud and support me a lot when I need most. I’m happy to be in the final and I’m looking forward to it. Mischa Zverev is a very talented player. He prepared very well for the season and has been playing some great tennis this year. He’s had some great victories especially against [Andy] Murray in Melbourne. He’s a lefty and has a special style that we don’t see too often nowadays.”

Zverev, who will attempt to capture his first ATP World Tour title, will be contesting his first final appearance since September 2010 at the Moselle Open in Metz (d. Simon).

Earlier in the day, Zverev, a traditional serve-and-volleyer who has varied his game style throughout the week in Geneva, kept his nerve to knock out second seed Kei Nishikori 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

The 29-year-old German required two hours and 18 minutes to reach the second ATP World Tour final of his career. Six days ago his younger brother, Alexander Zverev, captured his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome (d. Djokovic).

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Colombians Advance To Doubles Final

Second-seeded Colombians Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah will look to win their second Geneva doubles crown in three years on Saturday after they beat wild cards Johan Nikles and Tim Puetz 6-4, 6-4 in the semi-finals. Cabal and Farah, who beat Raven Klaasen and Yen-Hsun Lu for the 2015 title, have a 10-11 record in team finals (1-2 in 2017).

Later in the day, top seeds Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau overcame Scott Lipsky and Leander Paes 6-3, 3-6, 10-3 in 80 minutes. They will now look to lift their 14th team crown (13-4 in finals).

Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will play in his first clay-court final on Saturday after running away from Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 on Friday during the semi-finals of the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Lyon.

Tsonga hit 14 aces and saved eight of 10 break points in the last-four contest. The 32-year-old right-hander has played in 25 tour-level finals during his 14-year career but none on clay.

The second-seeded Tsonga will go for his third ATP World Tour title of the season and the 15^th of his career against top seed Milos Raonic or third seed Tomas Berdych.

Tsonga won back-to-back indoor titles in February in Rotterdam and Marseille, but has gotten off to a slow start on the clay. He had to withdraw from his second-round match at the Mutua Madrid Open and from the Internazionali BNL d’Italia because of a right shoulder injury.