Andy Murray expects Novak Djokovic anger as he makes Australian Open demand of Serb
Andy Murray is ready for some vents from Novak Djokovic while in his player’s box at the Australian Open.
By Neil McLeman
09:01, Thu, Jan 9, 2025
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Andy Murray is coaching Novak Djokovic at this year’s Australian Open (Image: Getty)
Andy Murray has insisted he will be “absolutely fine” with Novak Djokovic venting his anger at his coaching team at the Australian Open as long as he is “trying his hardest”.
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But the Scot admitted working with the Serbian superstar is going to be “stressful” as the Olympic champion seeks to win a record 25th Grand Slam singles title.
Murray’s decision to coach his fellow 37-year-old Djokovic shocked and intrigued the tennis world in November.
Both players have a history of winning big tournaments – and shouting abuse at their boxes during big moments in matches.
Speaking for the first time since the announcement, the Scot claimed they had “quite similar characters” and he understands the pressure of competing at the top level.
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And Murray has not asked Djokovic to rein in his ranting. “Of course, I’ve thought about it,” he said. “I would think that I’d be one of the people that would maybe hopefully understand that side of things.
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“I know it’s not easy out there, and it’s stressful, and at times he’s going to want to vent towards his team and his box. Providing that he’s giving his best effort and trying as hard as he can, I’m absolutely fine with him expressing himself how he wants.
“I think you have to be very careful with emotional players, to stop them from doing that, or stop them feeling like they’re able to if they need to: sometimes suppressing everything is also not the right way.
“I’ve had experiences of that as a player and watched other players. The description often of how the players look in those moments is that they look very flat. And that’s also not what you want.
“There’s a balance and as long as he’s giving his best effort and trying his hardest, I’m absolutely here for all of that. I’m not wanting anything different.”
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Andy Murray is now working closely with his former rival Novak Djokovic (Image: Getty)
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Murray, who retired at the Paris Olympics, revealed Djokovic texted him about joining his coaching team before October’s Shanghai Masters when the Scot was on the golf course.
He missed the warm-up event at Brisbane last week because he was skiing with his family but he supervised Djokovic’s hit with Frenchman Arthur Fils in the Rod Laver Arena today before another training session indoors.
“At times it’s very enjoyable,” Murray said. “But high performance is not supposed to be like laughs and jokes and messing around. It isn’t about that. In all the times I’ve been on tour, I haven’t seen that from any of the best players in the world.
“I’ve seen it from some of the lower-ranked players, and that’s one of the reasons why they’re not there. The best players take it seriously and they want to improve, and it’s not always easy.
“It’s demanding, but it’s extremely rewarding when you make a breakthrough in a practice and something starts to feel a little bit better.
Andy Murray is in his first coaching role with Novak Djokovic (Image: Getty)
“That’s exciting. Obviously I expect when the matches start, the tournament starts, it is stressful. When you’re trying to achieve great things, it’s not easy. But the rewards at the end of it can be great. And that’s something that I’m looking forward to.”
No.7 seed Djokovic will face American wildcard Nishesh Basavareddy in the first round – and could face his Brisbane conqueror Reilly Opelka in the third round. Carlos Alcaraz is his seeded quarter-final opponent. He is bidding to become the oldest ever Grand Slam singles winner.
Asked what he will bring to Djokovic’s play, Murray said: “I would hope I would have a decent knowledge of the players that are playing just now, and an understanding of what the game is like right now.
“Hopefully, as a coach, I’m able to see the game through Novak’s eyes and help him with the right strategy on the court. In many ways, we are quite similar characters, so I would hope I would empathise with him on the court when he’s finding it stressful or whatever, understanding those emotions, I can help with that.
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“And if it was something I did longer term, I would hope I would improve as a coach as well.”
Murray added: “It’s not the usual kind of set-up. So it made sense to trial it and see if it works. And then we said we’d make a more definitive decision after the tournament.
“My wife (Kim) was very supportive of it. Maybe if it was a younger player, where it was maybe long term, [you] might be looking at five, six years potentially. I’m not sure that that’s necessarily the case with Novak, but you never know if he’s doing well!”
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