Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic are gearing up for their first tournament working together (Image: AP)
Andy admitted he’s prepared to withstand ‘s fiery outbursts as the pair begin their working relationship at the . The tennis icons will pair up for their first tournament Down Under as the Serb hopes to add to his tally of 10 Grand Slams won in Australia as he faces American wildcard Nishesh Basavareddy in the first round.
Djokovic is sometimes known for raging on the court, with his coaches, all of whom he shares a good relationship with, often having to cop an earful from the sporting legend. His exuberant passion isn’t lost on Murray – who shared a long-standing rivalry with Djokovic – and is perhaps better suited to understanding how to internalise his emotional outbursts, as he said himself.
The Serb’s ex-head coach, Goran Ivanisevic, parted ways with Djokovic last year and admitted that being the head coach of such a demanding figure is not for everyone. The former champion said that there’s a ton of pressure when it comes to coaching Djokovic.
“Well, when you train , anything other than winning the title at any tournament is a failure. That’s a lot of pressure to deal with,” the 53-year-old told . “Novak is very demanding. Something new has to happen every day, he always wants to get better. If you can’t handle it, it’s better not to take the job at all. The language certainly helped me – we had no barrier between us.
“With Novak it’s like this, you only have a few seconds to explain something to him. He then wants to know 15 things from you at once, but you only have three seconds to do it. So you have to try to summarise everything in some clever way. It can be hard, but I enjoyed it with Novak.”
Djokovic’s former fitness coach Marco Panichi – who was part of his coaching team for half of his 24 Grand Slam titles – explained his process on how he handled the tennis star’s temper. “You see, we knew that it was nothing personal, we knew that sometimes he needed that (to release his anger) in order to play at his best,” he told .
The 24-time Grand Slam champion split with former coach Goran Ivanisevic last year (Image: Getty)
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“We knew how his mind worked when to tell him something and when not to say anything. He’s the type of player that sometimes needs that. With a player of his size, there is always stress. You have to deal not only with him but also with the whole organisation – a player like him represents the industry for himself, that’s the source of stress. Also, an elite tennis player like him always asks you for more, more and more. It’s part of the game.”
Discussing the synergy between himself and Djokovic, Murray admitted that he’s thought about the tense moments that could occur on court. “Of course I’ve thought about it,’ the Brit said at Melbourne Park’s practice courts on Thursday. “I would think I’d be one of the people that would understand that side of things.
“I know it’s not easy out there. It’s stressful and at times he’s going to vent towards his team and his box. Providing he’s giving his best effort and trying as hard as he can, I’m absolutely fine with him expressing himself how he wants.”