German legend Boris Becker has tipped his hat to Andy Murray who made his debut as Novak Djokovic’s coach during the Serb’s Round 1 match on Monday. Notably, former World No. 1 and six-time Major champion Becker served as Djokovic’s coach from 2013 to 2016.
Becker took to X to share his thoughts on Murray’s official match debut as part of team Djokovic.
“Well done Coach Andy,” Boris Becker wrote, responding to a picture posted by journalist Jose Morgado showing the Brit in his new assignment.
Djokovic’s first match with Murray in his coaching box was anything but easy, as he had to come back from a set down against unheralded American youngster Nishesh Basavareddy.
19-year-old Basavareddy matched Djokovic from the baseline throughout the first set, hitting stinging groundstrokes off both wings. However, the Serb upped the ante in the next three sets, taking them with relative ease.
After the match, Djokovic acknowledged that he was “impressed” with the youngster’s level and hailed him as a “complete” player.
“He got a great round of applause and appreciation from the crowd,” Djokovic said in his post-match interview. “They saw what he did on court, the quality of tennis, the fighting spirit.”
Becker’s stint with Djokovic was an incredibly successful one. After coaching Djokovic to a memorable Wimbledon victory in 2014 against Roger Federer, Becker featured prominently during Djokovic’s sublime form in 2015 and 2016, when the Serb dominated the playing field and won 5 of the 8 Majors.
The German has said that he and Djokovic have a close relationship and that he considers Djokovic a “brother from another mother.”
The tennis world is closely observing the Novak Djokovic-Andy Murray partnership
Last year, Novak Djokovic shocked the tennis world when he announced that long-time rival Andy Murray would be joining his team as a coach. Three-time Slam winner and former World No. 1 Murray retired at the end of the Paris Olympics last year.
Djokovic last year was unable to add to his Slam tally, but finally won the Olympic gold, completing his collection of big trophies. In 2025, the Serb has proclaimed that he will prioritize Slams and enter more tournaments.
After his first-round win, Djokovic said he was glad to have the Brit on his side.
“Obviously, thrilled to have him (Murray) in my corner. 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. Great to have him on the same side of the net,” the Serb said.
Murray, meanwhile, has said that Novak Djokovic will be able to cement his legacy as the greatest athlete of all time if he can add to his record haul of Grand Slams.