Novak Djokovic’s rival-turned-coach Andy Murray says he’s “absolutely fine” with the star venting frustrations towards him during matches – as long as he’s “trying as hard as he can”.
GB tennis great Murray, who joined the Serbian star’s coaching team last November, months after retiring from playing, spoke to reporters in Melbourne on Thursday ahead of the Australian Open first round on Saturday.
24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic, like Murray, is prone to an on-court rant, with his coaches often taking the brunt of his frustrations.
Asked about his on-court antics, Murray said: “Of course I’ve thought about it.
“I would think that I’d be one of the people that would maybe, hopefully, understand that side of things.
“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.”
Murray ‘couldn’t think of anything worse’ than coaching
Pic: Reuters
Murray, 37, who won Wimbledon twice and the US Open, admitted he wasn’t interested in becoming a coach before he received a call from Djokovic.
“I was enjoying being away from the tour and I really hadn’t watched much tennis. I had not missed playing or competing or being on a tennis court at all,” Murray said.
“I was actually playing golf. We’d actually been exchanging messages. Novak had messaged me just wanting to chat.
“I was on the 17th hole of the golf course and the guy I was playing with said to me, ‘Do you know what’s next’? I was like, ‘No, not really’. He said ‘Do you have any plans to do any coaching’? And I said, ‘Honestly, I can’t think of anything worse to do right now.'”
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Murray added: “And then 30 minutes later I was in the car and I called Novak, and then we had a conversation and he asked if I would be interested in helping, which I obviously wasn’t expecting.
“I said to him, ‘Look, I need to think about it and talk to my family.’ So I spoke to them and, after a couple of days, I thought that it was a pretty unique opportunity and experience.”
Murray, who faced Djokovic 36 times from 2006 to 2022 and lost 25, is currently only contracted to coach his former rival until the end of the Australian Open.
Asked how he had found the new experience, he said: “At times it’s very enjoyable. But high performance is not supposed to be laughs and jokes and messing around.
“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.
“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. That’s exciting.
“Obviously, I expect when the matches start, 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.”
Djokovic will face American wildcard Nishesh Basavareddy in the first round on Saturday as he aims for an 11th title in Melbourne.
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