Novak Djokovic called out Tim Henman to his face during an interview at the Australian Open.
The world No. 7 added Andy Murray to his coaching team during the off-season and the Brit has been spotted in his box throughout the tournament in Melbourne.
When news of their partnership broke, Henman admitted he wanted to see them “shouting and screaming” at each other. And Djokovic hadn’t forgotten his comments.
The 24-time Major winner appeared on Eurosport after winning his second-round match in Melbourne. When the presenters tried to say goodbye, Djokovic interrupted so he could dig Henman out.
“Look, I saw what Tim posted a few weeks ago. He was really looking forward to me screaming at Andy during the matches,” he laughed.
“It might happen but I hope it doesn’t because then he’s going to scream at me and then who knows what.”
While Djokovic and Murray have both been known to chunter at their boxes while competing on the court, there has been nothing of the sort between the rivals-turned-teammates during the Serb’s first two matches in Melbourne.
Instead, Djokovic has been pleased with the early stages of their partnership. He added: “It’s still quite an early phase. It’s a bit strange to have him – in a good way – in my corner, on the same side of the net, so to say.
“We spent 25 years competing against each other, hiding a lot of information, a lot of vulnerabilities, weaknesses. But now all of the cards are on the table.
-“I think it’s great that the coaching staff is able to sit literally in the corner of the court. I know you guys haven’t heard that because there’s no microphones and I hope it stays that way because I’d rather not reveal too much of the professional talk.”
Murray has been putting the work in during his new stint as Djokovic’s coach. He watched a full three-hour replay of the Serb’s opening match against Nishesh Basavareddy the following morning to pick out anything he missed while sat courtside.
Djokovic has had a tough start to the Aussie Open, dropping sets to Basavareddy and qualifier Jaime Faria. While it’s been a frustrating run, the No. 7 seed hasn’t been venting his anger towards Murray.
It’s been a disappointment for Henman, who was eager to see some “adversity” in Djokovic’s first matches with the three-time Major winner in his corner.
“Who’s going to shout at who? I’m definitely intrigued,” Henman previously told Eurosport.
“That’s why I want to see Djokovic struggle a little bit in those early matches so that there’s a bit of tension, a bit of adversity, hopefully a bit of shouting and screaming at the box.”
Swiss
