Andy Murray has revealed the hilarious response he gave to Novak Djokovic after the 24-time Grand Slam winner asked the now-retired British tennis player to be his coach.
The 37-year-old has been at Melbourne Park this week playing a very different role, helping the Serbian star prepare for next week’s Australian Open.
On Thursday, Djokovic faced Alexander Zverev in what was a spectacular duel between the two tennis stars and, despite looking like he might lose the match, Djokovic recovered to win 7-6 (6).
The exhibition event on the eve of the year’s first Slam, which was dubbed ‘An Evening with Novak’, also saw Murray, Zverev and the ten-time Australian Open winner sitting down for a post-match chat.
Murray, who announced his retirement from professional tennis last year, caused a crisis in the tennis world after taking over as Djokovic’s coach, something he added he did not see coming and was reluctant to take over, despite of the former world number one. persuading him to join your team.
But on Thursday, Murray revealed his humorous response to Djokovic, after the Serb initially asked him to join.
Andy Murray (left) has revealed the humorous response he gave to Novak Djokovic (right) after the Serbian asked him to be his coach.
Murray has been training Djokovic at Melbourne Park this week and took the court for a charity exhibition match.
“I was surprised,” Murray told fans inside Rod Laver Arena. “He obviously wasn’t expecting that when he called.
“I said, ‘Look, I’m going to have to ask my wife.'”
Laughter echoed through the huge tennis coliseum before Murray added: “She really supported me and it was a unique opportunity and we thought we’d give it a try and see if I can help.”
During his distinguished career, the Australian Open is a tournament that has been particularly painful for Murray, who reached the men’s singles final on five occasions but suffered defeat each time.
In fact, four of those defeats came against the man he now coaches, Djokovic, and in a tongue-in-cheek dig at the Serb, Murray spoke of his inability to win at Melbourne Park.
“Yes, I played here several times, but I never could get over the line,” he said.
‘This man (nodding towards Djokovic) is the only one responsible for this.
“Now I’m here to try to sabotage their chances of winning another one,” Murray joked.
The Scot also made a surprise return to the court during the charity evening to hit Djokovic, along with Victoria Azarenka and Zheng Qinwen.
Murray showed that the magic is never lost, notably unleashing a huge volley over Djokovic, which the Serbian star was unable to return.
Murray teamed up with Victoria Azarenka, who jokingly criticized the British star, claiming Djokovic’s son could do a better job than him.
The players entertained fans at Rod Laver Arena, and Murray confessed that he was on the golf course when he discovered that Djokovic wanted him as his coach.
But despite Murray’s play, he received some criticism from Djokovic and even his partner, Azarenka.
“Can I replace Andy with your son?” he said, speaking to Djokovic. “I’ve heard he’s a very good player.”
While Djokovic’s son Stefan rejected the offer, the Serbian star added: “I think he would do better than Andy.”
Earlier today, Murray revealed that he discovered that Djokovic wanted him to be his coach while he was on the golf course.
“I was on the 17th hole of the golf course and the guy I was playing with said, ‘Do you know what’s next?’ I said, ‘No, not really.’ He said, ‘Do you have any plans to train?’ And I said, ‘I honestly can’t think of anything worse to do right now,'” Murray said Thursday.
“And then 30 minutes later I was in the car and I called Novak, and then we had a conversation and he asked me if I would be interested in helping, which I obviously wasn’t expecting.”