Agassi had been asked to address Hookes' state cricket side Victoria

He wants to honour a commitment he had made to make a motivational address to Hookes' state cricket team Victoria.

Hookes died in hospital on Monday after suffering serious head injuries in an assault outside a Melbourne hotel.

Agassi said: "It's a tragedy to me. It's a shame anybody would have to sort of go through that, him or his family."

Victoria coach Hookes, 48, and his players had been celebrating a win over South Australia in a match on Sunday when the attack took place.

"It's just affected everybody at the tournament," Agassi said before starting his Open defence with a first-round win over Czech Tomas Berdych.

"I'm just devastated by it."

Agassi said he had never met Hookes but was aware of his standing in Australian sport.

He said Hookes had approached his Australian coach Darren Cahill late last year and again just before the Australian Open to speak to the Victoria team.

No firm arrangements were made, but Agassi said he was still interested in talking to the players.

"I would love to," Agassi said.

"I can't honestly say that I could sit people down in a room and keep their amusement or attention for very long," he said.