Murray Jokes He Wants To Sabotage Djokovic As He Explains How They Teamed Up
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Andy Murray hilariously claimed he became Novak Djokovic's coach to stop him from winning another Australian Open after suffering several painful defeats to the Serbian in Melbourne.
Djokovic's appointment of Murray was a stunning moment that no tennis fan or analyst had seen coming. They used to be fierce rivals on the court, contesting seven Grand Slam finals and matches at the Olympics and ATP Finals.
Murray, whose level declined after 2016 because of a severe hip injury, finally retired at last year's Olympics. He competed in the doubles alongside Dan Evans, saving match points in two wins before losing in the quarterfinal.
Despite having no previous coaching experience, Djokovic thinks Murray is the perfect appointment because he can relate to the pressure of competing on the most significant stages against the best players in the world.
Murray was not with Djokovic last week at the Brisbane International, but he traveled to Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open to begin the high-profile partnership that has attracted much media attention.
The Guardian wrote a report analyzing how Djokovic and Murray interacted during the Serbian's practice set with Carlos Alcaraz, which he won 7-5 after serving better in the tight moments than the 21-year-old.
Djokovic and Murray constantly communicated throughout the match. They discussed topics such as his forehand swing and the timing of his split step. Murray also asked his former rival several questions to understand his mentality on the court.
That practice set with Alcaraz was followed by an exhibition victory against Alexander Zverev. The ten-time Australian Open champion's successes against Alcaraz and Zverev should be the perfect preparation for the season's opening Grand Slam.
Murray, Djokovic, and Zverev did an interview on-court at the Rod Laver Arena. That included the humorous moment when Murray claimed he was working to sabotage Djokovic after losing to him in four Australian Open finals.
"I played here a few times. Yeah.. could never get over the line, unfortunately. This man (points to Djokovic) was single-handedly responsible for that. So, I'm now here to sabotage his chances of winning another one."
The three-time Grand Slam champion became more serious when discussing how the partnership with Djokovic came about. Although he did not initially want to become a coach, the opportunity to work with Djokovic was too tempting to turn down.
"I was actually playing golf. We’d exchanged messages and missed calls and stuff. Then eventually, 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.'"
"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. [When the offer came] I spoke to my family, and after a couple of days, I thought that it was a pretty unique opportunity and experience."
Murray mentioned that he and Djokovic spent some time together during the off-season to assess their dynamic before they decided to work together until at least the end of the Australian Open.
"I thought it would be a good idea to try it together, and spend some time in the off-season through Australia and see how it goes for both of us, because it’s a little bit different. 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."
