PARIS: World number one Andy Murray admitted Wednesday he was surprised by Novak Djokovic’s appointment of Andre Agassi as coach at the French Open, but believes it will be “good for Novak and good for tennis”.

Djokovic, the defending champion at Roland Garros, named US legend Agassi as his new coach on Sunday, just minutes after losing the Rome Masters final to Alexander Zverev.

“To be helped by Andre, it’s definitely a positive thing for Novak and it’s good for tennis. When the great players of tennis stay in the sport, it creates lots of interest,” Murray told AFP as he performed promotional duties for sponsor Under Armour in Paris on Wednesday.

“I don’t know the details of their agreement. But I know that Andre is a man who is very, very busy. He does many things beyond tennis, he has his school in Las Vegas...

“It was a little surprising because I didn’t think he would decide one day to become a coach,” added Murray, who was beaten by Djokovic in the 2016 French Open final.

Agassi, 47, won eight Grand Slam titles, but retired from playing after the 2006 US Open.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2017