Australian Open 2025: Surreal reality of new coaching partnership sets in for Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray
Novak Djokovic has hailed the influence of new coach Andy Murray as he chases an unprecedented 11th Australian Open title. Will the rivals turned allies form a successful duo?
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Those who expected Andy Murray to be on his feet barking instructions at Novak Djokovic or gesturing at his watch towards the umpire as if he was Sir Alex Ferguson were always going to be disappointed.
While he was renowned for his on-court histrionics as a player, Andy Murray the coach is more in line with his restrained manner away from the court.
This is not to say that Murray had no impact on Djokovic’s first-round victory at the Australian Open.
At a set down to the 19-year-old American wildcard Nishesh Basavareddy, Djokovic walked close to his coaching box at the back corner of the Rod Laver Arena court and looked for some tactical inspiration from his former rival.
The next three sets were then his, sealing a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win.
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“He gave me some great advice mid-match,” Djokovic said afterwards, while also understandably keeping the exact specifics of the guidance under wraps.
It still takes some getting used to seeing Murray and Djokovic working together in this way, particularly so at Melbourne Park where Djokovic denied Murray an Australian Open title in four finals, as well as a tumultuous five-hour semi-final in 2012.
Even Djokovic himself felt it somewhat surreal on Monday evening to have his fellow 37-year-old in his team.
“It’s all business now for us and I am thrilled to have him in my corner,” Djokovic said.
“I must say it was a bit of a strange experience to have him courtside in my box. We played for over 20 years against each other at the highest level. It is great to have him on the same side of the net.”
Murray may have also initially found it hard to settle into his courtside chair because of Djokovic’s slow start.
The Serbian, a ten-times champion here, looked lethargic in the early stages and conceded the first break of the match to go 4-3 down against his teenage opponent.
It would be a stretch to say there were panic stations when Djokovic lost the opening set but it was clearly of some concern that he failed to convert his first five break points in the match.
At one stage in the second set he could be seen asking for more encouragement from those sitting in his box, which also included his hitting partner Carlos Gomez-Herrera, fitness trainer Gebhard Gritsch and physio Miljan Amanovic.
When Djokovic finally converted his sixth break point for a 5-3 lead in the second set, Murray was at his most animated. He stood up and gave a fist pump in the direction of Djokovic, aware that this could be a key turning point.
So it proved, with Djokovic going on to seal a four-set victory with an ace out wide. While he never directly ranted towards Murray throughout the evening, he did show some frustration with himself at this point, looking towards his box and angrily gesturing with his arms to indicate that his ball toss had been erratic up until his matchwinning ace.
“A few times I approached Andy, asking him something about whatever shot it was,” Djokovic said afterwards.
“He was giving me his feedback, guidance and opinion.
“It’s important. I enjoy talking to Andy. He knows 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. He was standing up several times, trying to encourage me and support me. I really did enjoy it. I think he’s a great guy.”
Within minutes of the match concluding, Murray and Djokovic were already in discussions in the locker room on preparations for Wednesday’s second-round match against Portugal’s Jaime Faria. Murray had brought his golf clubs to Melbourne in the hope of getting out on the course, but has so far been restricted to the occasional session at a local driving range because of an intense coaching workload.
“It’s been a bit more demanding than I was expecting,” Murray told Channel 10’s The Project on Sunday.
“There is a lot more that goes on behind the scenes that, when I was a player, I didn’t really appreciate. The team do a lot more work than what you would see. I wish I would have known that when I was playing. I maybe would have been a bit easier to work with.”
Murray was not the only high-profile sporting star in the Australian Open coaching boxes on Monday.
Spotted on Court No5 to some surprise was Sonny Bill Williams, the former New Zealand rugby player who is a friend and informal mentor of the 21-year-old Australian wildcard James McCabe.
“I have known Sonny ever since I was a kid,” McCabe said after claiming his first win at the Australian Open, a straight-sets victory against Spain’s Martin Landaluce.
“We are really close, family friends. I just wanted him to come down.
“Sonny is like a brother to me. He is amazing. He has all the experience being one of the best players ever to step on the field. His words of wisdom and everything, I’m just very lucky. Being at the top of rugby he has a lot of experience with pressure and everything that comes with it.”
Carlos Alcaraz, who is set to meet the 24-times grand-slam singles champion Djokovic at the quarter-final stage, looked in cruise control against the world No77 Alexander Shevchenko.
The Spaniard needed only one hour and 56 minutes to win his first-round match 6-1, 7-5, 6-1.
This story was originally published by The Times
Originally published as Australian Open 2025: Surreal reality of new coaching partnership sets in for Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray
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