Andy Murray recalls his hilarious response to Novak Djokovic after the tennis great asked him to be his coach: ‘I was shocked’

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 star to be his coach.

The 37-year-old was at Melbourne Park this week in a very different role, helping the Serbian star prepare for next week’s Australian Open.

On Thursday, Djokovic took on Alexander Zverev in a spectacular match between the two tennis stars and despite looking like he would lose the match, Djokovic came back to win 7-6 (6).

The practice event on the eve of the first slam of the year, dubbed ‘A Night With Novak’, also saw Murray, Zverev and the 10-time Australian Open winner all huddled together for a chat after the match.

Murray, who announced his retirement from professional tennis last year, threw the tennis world into crisis after taking on the role of Djokovic’s coach, something he added he didn’t see coming and was hesitant to step into the role, despite the former world number 1. to persuade him to join his team.

But on Thursday, Murray revealed his humorous response to Djokovic after the Serbian initially asked him to come on board.

Murray coached Djokovic at Melbourne Park this week and stepped onto the court for a charity match

“I was shocked,” Murray told fans at Rod Laver Arena. ‘Of course I didn’t expect that when he called.

“I said, ‘Look, I’m going to have to ask my wife.’

There was an echo of laughter around the huge tennis coliseum before Murray added: “She was really supportive of it and it was quite 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 five times 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 attack on the Serb, Murray opened up about his inability to win at Melbourne Park.

“Yes, I played here a few times, but I could never quite get it over the line,” he said.

‘This man [nodding to Djokovic] is solely responsible for that.

“I’m here now to try to sabotage his chances of winning another one,” Murray joked.

The Scot also made a surprise return to the court for a knock-off with Djokovic, alongside Victoria Azarenka and Zheng Qinwen, during the charity evening.

Murray showed that you never lose the magic, especially by unleashing a huge volley on Djokovic that the Serbian star could not return.

Murray teamed up with Victoria Azarenka, who jokingly criticized the British star and claimed Djokovic’s son could do better than him.

The players entertained fans at Rod Laver Arena, with Murray saying he was on the golf course when he found out 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,” she said to Djokovic. “I heard he’s a very good player.”

While Djokovic’s son Stefan declined the offer, the Serbian star added: “I think he would do better than Andy.”

Earlier today, Murray revealed that he found out 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 to me, ‘You know what’s next?’ I thought, “No, not really.” He said, “Do you have any plans to do coaching?” And I said, ‘Honestly, I can’t think of anything worse right now,'” Murray said Thursday.

“And thirty minutes later I was in the car and I called Novak, and then we had a conversation and he asked if I was interested in helping, which I obviously didn’t expect.”