Murray, often found berating his own coaching box and shouting at himself on court as a player, cut a composed figure in Djokovic’s box on Rod Laver.
All eyes were on the coaching pod – a new innovation at the Australian Open which allows players to have coaching staff courtside – where Murray sat with three other members of Djokovic’s team, offering gentle encouragement as the 24-time Grand Slam champion navigated losing the first set and applauding points won in key moments.
“He gave me some great advice during the match,” said Djokovic. “It’s really nice to be able to exchange some feedback. It’s been a really nice experience, hopefully we don’t stop here.”
Djokovic, seeded seventh in Melbourne, struggled to find his rhythm in the first set against Basavareddy, making uncharacteristic errors in crucial moments.
The last time Djokovic lost in the first round of a Grand Slam was against Paul Goldstein at the 2006 Australian Open, just a few months after Basavareddy was born.
In a curious full-circle moment, Goldstein went on to become Basavareddy’s head coach at Stanford University.
The teenager idolises Djokovic and was impressive as he showed no signs of nervousness as he battled his way to a break of serve and took the opening set.
But as the second set wore on Basavareddy started to cramp and fatigue set in as Djokovic reduced the error count and romped to the second and third sets.
Djokovic and Murray had a lengthy chat before the start of the fourth with the latter appearing to offer advice on Djokovic’s backhand and he cruised through the fourth set to take victory.
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