Former world number one
John McEnroe has shared thoughts about
Andy Murray’s coaching stint, beginning with Serbia’s
Novak Djokovic. The 37-year-old, who is often regarded as the greatest British player in men’s
tennis in the singles category after winning three Grand Slams and multiple
Olympic gold medals, recently joined the former world number one as his coach for
the 2025 season.
The decision was a surprising one, considering that Murray
retired from the sport after taking part in the Paris Olympics. His first major
project as a coach is the ongoing Australian Open. Djokovic has had a rather
bumpy start to his 2025 campaign in Melbourne but still managed to book his
place in the third round after beating Jaimie Faria with a score of 6-1, 6-7,
6-3, 6-2.
Former world number one McEnroe has been recently quoted in
a Eurosport report where he shared his thoughts about Murray’s first few days
as a coach. The 65-year-old was of the opinion that the Glasgow-born started to get
a bit ‘nervous’ when Djokovic was struggling to get the better of his opponent.
McEnroe was also of the opinion that Djokovic, who has eight major titles in Melbourne,
has not been able to perform to his best ability in the ongoing competition, which
also left him a bit ‘frustrated’.
"Djokovic was extremely frustrated," said McEnroe.
"He was up a set and a break. It was cruise control. But Faria woke up and
he started hitting the big ball. He's a big boy. He's probably six-three, at
least, maybe six-four. He packs a punch. Andy Murray was over there on the
sideline, and was starting to get a little nervous with what was going on. But
this is the first Grand Slam event that Faria's ever played. So I think in the
third set, the nerves and the reality of the situation started to catch up to
him."