Andy Murray is coaching Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic screamed with excitement after his victory over Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals of the thrilling Australian Open in January, and immediately ran to his new coach, Andy Murray, to share the moment with him. When Djokovic greeted Murray, who was the coach, he was clearly emotional. The Serb's brilliant plan to beat Alcaraz in Melbourne bears traces of Murray's tactical design.
Three-time Grand Slam champion Murray has been a master of tactical planning throughout his illustrious career, and he's always studied the sport, looking for ways to overcome difficulties and beat his opponents.
Against Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic, Murray has been more successful than any other player. And his first foray into coaching shows that his passion for developing tactical plans that deliver results has not waned.
The first major test of Murray's coaching relationship with Djokovic came in Melbourne's game against Alcaraz, where Djokovic's tactics weakened some of the Spaniard's firepower.
After being unable to fend off Alcaraz's onslaught in the first set, Djokovic switched to a revised tactical plan, which was the main reason for the young Alcaraz's troubles.
He slowed down the pace of the ball and didn't give Alcaraz the kind of fierce play he was good at, and the Spaniard started to make mistakes.
This more secure style of play also eliminated risk from Djokovic's match, as he reduced his mistakes, making only six unforced errors in the final two sets.
In contrast, an increasingly anxious Alcaraz had 20 unforced errors in those two sets, and this huge gap between the two was a key reason why the seasoned veteran defeated the youngster. Murray was almost certainly behind the plan to limit mistakes and allow the Spaniard's frustration to build up to the flashpoint.
Reflecting on his first coaching experience on the Sporting Adventures with Chris Hoy podcast, Murray said:
"It doesn't matter who coaches these top players, it's important that you give them a clear direction because they're so good.
"A lot of people can come up with that kind of tactic, anybody with a deep knowledge of tennis can do it, but not all players can do what you're asking them to do.
"For me, that's what makes Djokovic the most amazing. In a couple of matches, I gave him strategies that I thought were feasible and beneficial, and he was able to execute them perfectly as required, with his technical ability.
"The way he hits the ball, the way he moves on the court, and he has very few weaknesses, which is why they [the top players] are able to execute the game plan better than anyone else because they are so technical."
The challenge for Alcaraz will be how to deal with the defensive tactics that have worked well for him in Melbourne.
On the upside, most opponents are unable to cope with his powerful attacks from the baseline, but there is no doubt that he is uncomfortable with the soft style of play that Djokovic employs when serving and hitting the ball.
Then, when Djokovic needed to pick up the tempo and push Alcaraz, who was already a little flustered, into a corner, he had enough firepower to carry out the plan.
Djokovic has high praise for Murray's contribution to his Australian Open semi-final campaign, so it will come as no surprise when the pair confirmed that they will continue to work together at the upcoming tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami.
Djokovic said of continuing to work with Murray:
"I expressed my desire to continue working with him, so I'm really glad he accepted.
"It's uncertain how long we'll be working together, but we agreed that we'll probably work together in the U.S., then some clay events, and then we'll see how it goes."
The news that Murray will fly to the United States to work with Djokovic suggests that Djokovic believes he is fully fit and that he is now ready to go all out, despite injury problems in recent weeks that have affected his target.
On his quest for his 100th career title, Djokovic believes Murray could be a crucial piece of the puzzle for him to win the title. It will be interesting to see how the two will work together again at Indian Wells.
If Djokovic goes well this week, he will meet Alcaraz in the quarter-finals next week. At that time, Murray will remind him that the "disciple" had a tactical plan on the pitch in Melbourne a few weeks ago that proved to be very successful.
In this way, the new subject is in front of Alcaraz and his coach Ferrero. Alcaraz is technically well-rounded and skilled, which allows him to complete any tactical plan. Therefore, if this quarter-final can be staged in Indian Wells, then Djokovic and Alcaraz will be watching Djokovic and Alcaraz show off their skills, and behind them will be Murray and Ferrero's fighting style.
Aren't you looking forward to it?
[Laughs] [Come and see me] [Zuoyi] [Rose] [Heart]
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