Novak Djokovic admits to ‘strange’ Andy Murray coaching debut at Australian Open

Novak Djokovic admitted his first on-court experience of being coached by Andy Murray was “strange” but said his former rival offered some “great advice” after opening his Australian Open campaign with a comeback win over teenager Nishesh Basavareddy.

Djokovic and Murray faced each other in four Australian Open finals but the retired Scot has joined the 37-year-old’s’ team as he bids to win a record 25th grand slam title this month.

Murray was positioned in the new ‘coaching pods’ on the Rod Laver Arena, which are positioned at court-level and allowed him to exchange feedback with Djokovic during the first-round match.

Despite dropping the first set to the 19-year-old American wildcard Basavareddy, Djokovic improved to book his place in the second round, bouncing back from his surprise defeat to Reilly Opelka in Brisbane.

“It was a strange experience with him court-side, I’m thrilled to have him in my corner. We played for over 20 years against each other,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview.

“He gave me some great advice mid-match. We exchanged some feedback. It’s a completely different angle when you are watching from the side and he is doing really well. Hopefully we don’t stop here.”

Djokovic gave more details in his post-match press conference. “A few times I did approach Andy, asked him something about whatever it was, whatever shot. He was giving me his feedback, his guidance and opinion. It’s important. I enjoy talking to Andy

“He knows my tennis as well as anybody out there. He’s a legend of the sport. He understands the highs and lows that you go through on the court, not just game-wise but mentally and physically. I don’t need to do much explaining. He gets everything that I’m going through.

“In those moments on the court, it’s a big battle. Of course, he wants me to show the energy, to show the fist pump and everything to get myself going. I think he was doing great today. He was standing up several times, trying to encourage me and support me. I enjoyed it. I really did enjoy it. I think he’s a great guy. It’s a pleasure to have him in my corner.”

Former British player Laura Robson was sat court-side as a pundit for Eurosport and Discovery+ and revealed some of the dynamics between the former rivals during the first-round win.

“I managed to keep an eye on him,” Robson said. “He did not stay for the on-court interview, he was out of there pronto. He’s not used to sitting down and watching a match for three hours and was stretching his back out by the end.

“I was surprised with how vocal he was. I was surprised to hear, ‘C’mon Novak, keep the energy up’, and I saw some hand signals too. It was more than I thought we were going to get in a way.”

Djokovic admitted he had not seen much of Basavareddy but was impressed with the teenager’s grand slam debut. The Serbian said Basavareddy was the “better player” over the first set and a half, but he managed to turn the match around.

“To be honest, I’ve never seen him play until a few days ago. These matches are always dangerous when they have nothing to lose, his first match at the grand slam level.

“He’s a very complete player. He surprised me with his shots and fighting spirit, I wish him all the best with the rest of his career. He’s a boy but he didn’t get carried away by the moment.”