Andre Agassi believes controversial Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios can go to world No.1 if he fixes his attitude.

Agassi, who admitted he hated the sport early in his career, believes Kyrgios now needs to learn the same lessons he did.

“I’m always amazed when I look back at my life and hating tennis,” he told News Corp Australia.

“It’s like hating an inanimate object. Tennis is what you want to be.”

Agassi held the world No.1 ranking for 101 weeks, including for 12 months between 1999 and 2000.

He insists 21-year-old Kyrgios, ranked 15th, can reach the same level.

However he says it’s only possible if Kyrgios employs a full-time coach.

“From a talent perspective, absolutely,” he said.

“He obviously needs some form of inspiration to engage and he needs to put a team around him to allow him to execute those changes daily.”

Agassi backed his former mentor and Adelaide-based coach Darren Cahill, to fill the role.