Andy Murray says the “unique opportunity” to coach Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open was worth it and he’s ready to take out the former’s ire in a high-pressure situation. Serbian 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic made the shocking decision to hire Murray in November, just months after the Scot ended his playing career. Fellow former world No. 1 Murray, who has known Djokovic since their junior days, said in his first comments since then that the call came out of the blue.
“I said to him, ‘Look, you need to think about it and talk to your family about it,'” the BBC quoted Murray as saying.
“So I talked to them and after a few days I thought this was a very unique opportunity and experience.
I thought it would be a good idea to give it a try.
Murray himself is a three-time major champion and a five-time finalist in Australia, and both are members of the so-called “Big Four” along with Rafael Nadal, who retired last year, and Roger Federer, who retired last year. Sports in 2022.
Djokovic and Murray faced off 36 times during their career, with the Serb winning 25 of them.
Nineteen of those matches were finals, with both players known for shouting into the box in pressure situations.
Murray might be on the receiving end this time.
“I know it’s not easy being out there, it’s stressful and sometimes he wants to throw up at the team and his box,” Murray said.
“I have no problem with him expressing himself however he wants, as long as he’s doing his best and trying as hard as he can.”
As Djokovic seeks his 11th Australian Open title and 25th major title, Murray made it clear he is not in town for the holidays.
“It can be a lot of fun,” he says, “but high performance isn’t about laughing, joking, and goofing around.”
“I’ve never seen anything like that from any of the best players in the world in all my time on tour.
“We’ve seen it from some of the lower-ranked players as well, and that’s one of the reasons they’re not there.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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