Tennis stars Andre Agassi and Grigor Dimitrov shared insight into their sweet friendship amid the Australian Open, six years after they last worked together on the court.
Andre, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players in history, took to Instagram to wish his former protégé luck in his Australian Open run, while delighting fans with a special throwback.
The American star shared a photo of the pair from several years ago, when Grigor was just a young man. They were both shirtless as they posed for the camera on a tennis court, while in the second photo, they were pictured inside a hotel sharing a hug.
In the second snap, taken more recently, Andre wore a red shirt with black shorts and leggings underneath, while Grigor sported a black tee and matching trousers. "Then vs. now @grigordimitrov…Luckily we learned how to wear shirts! Love ya g keep pushing!" Andre wrote in the caption as fans rushed to the comment section to share the love.
"My absolute two favourites!!!!" wrote one fan, while another added: "Y'all taking any supplements [because] you haven't aged in 20 yrs!" A third chimed in: "My two favorite players," while another said: "Always the best! Cool then and cool now!!!"
Andre is soaking up the sun at the Australian Open after playing exhibition matches with his fellow tennis legends, including Roger Federer. The 55-year-old, who is an eight-time Grand Slam winner, established a close bond with Grigor after working in his coaching team as a mentor between 2018 and 2020.
The Bulgarian hopeful told The Independent that Andre was one of the most important people in his life at the time, due to his ability to relate to Grigor's struggles as an athlete.
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"The description of 'role model' hardly does Andre justice. I really can't find the words to describe how amazing a person he is and how much he has brought to me in my life," he told the publication.
Grigor and his former coach, Daniel Vallverdu, decided to bring Andre onto the coaching team after the tennis star suffered a series of defeats in 2018. "We knew that at some point we would need somebody with a bit more experience, someone who had gone through it all," he said.
"I knew there was only one person like that who I could completely put my trust [in]. That was Andre, so we started talking. I had known Andre since I was 14 or 15, though never as well as I've gotten to know him recently. When we started working together, I totally trusted him from day one."
He continued: "It's an amazing relationship. It's nice to have someone who is at such a high intellectual level but has also been through what you're going through on the court. It's good when he speaks to you, and you realize: 'I know that feeling.' I appreciate that a lot."
Grigor, now 34, is back on the court after suffering a tear in his right pectoral muscle during Wimbledon in 2025, which forced him to withdraw from the competition.