The making of coach Murray: Those who know Sir Andy best reveal to MATTHEW LAMBERT the unique style and tactical tricks that will make Murray the perfect teacher – and why even Novak Djokovic has a lot to learn from him

You all know the stereotype of the footballer who is destined to become a manager. They always question the boss’s decisions, devise their own tactical plans and run the game on the pitch.

So, as Andy Murray takes his courtside seat for Novak Djokovic’s first round match at the Australian Open this morning, is it the same in tennis?

Was Murray always a coach in waiting and how will his life as a player influence his second career?

Mail Sport spoke to two of the Scot’s former coaches, one from the start and one from the end of his career.

Mark Petchey was Murray’s first professional coach in 2005, overseeing his Wimbledon debut and first tour-level final. Jamie Delgado joined the team as an assistant coach in Murray’s annus mirabilis of 2016, when he reached No. 1 in the world. Delgado took the top job in 2017 and guided Murray through hip surgery and a return to the tour.

“A lot of players take what their coaches tell them as gospel and just accept it. Andy wasn’t like that,” said Delgado, who is here in Melbourne coaching No. 10 seed Grigor Dimitrov. ‘He always wanted to know the ‘why’ behind things.

“Some players come to sessions or practice weeks, show up and do what the coach says. We should tell Andy in advance, explain what we wanted to work on and why. For example, if I felt like he needed to work on his forehand or hit the ball harder, I would have to give him video evidence and stats to explain it.”

It’s one thing to be so rigorous as a Grand Slam champion in your late 20s, but Petchey reveals that 18-year-old Murray was no different.

“He would want to understand the reasons for things,” says Petchey, now an expert and commentator. “He would do his own research, whether that’s a racquet change, a string change, a tactical thing or a technical thing.”

Murray also challenged his coaches after and notoriously during games. For example, a former member of his team recently related the following anecdote: Going into a match, the team told Murray that his opponent had a strong preference for the wide serve on break points. Murray earned his first break point of the match and, boom, straight down the tee went the serve and straight up went the Murray arms as he complained against his box.

Delgado recognizes that dynamic. “Andy will experience that as a coach,” he says. “When you talk about trends, it’s never 100 percent and yes, there will be frustration if it doesn’t work, but I like to think we’ve gotten it right most of the time!”

The Wimbledon champion was certainly a demanding employer, but both Delgado and Petchey insist they wouldn’t have it any other way; that working with Murray made them a better version of themselves.

‘Is it easier if you don’t have such a player? Maybe, but at the highest level you want to be pushed,” says the 47-year-old. ‘It challenged me, it made me double and triple check that the sessions we do are specific to what he needs. It has helped me in my coaching career.”

Petchey agrees. “It’s a healthy relationship with a player,” he says. ‘It is ultimately a collaboration, a partnership. By the time I left Andy, I was a much better coach than when I came in.”

If Murray was practiced at picking apart his coaches’ arguments, he was even more adept at picking apart his opponents on the field. That tactical mastery, which appears to be largely innate, should translate well into coaching.

“He was very involved in the tactics of the game,” Delgado said. ‘He obviously had a good eye for that from an early age. Even when he practiced with a player, from the strategic side of things, he always took a few things from the training.

‘That’s the talent of a coach, those are the qualities of a coach that you need, especially with someone like Novak, who is already a great player, but little things can make a big difference. If he suggests something tactical to Novak, it might only get him three extra points in the match, but at this level that is huge.”

The day before we spoke, Delgado had lunch with Murray and he says, “He seemed to enjoy it, he said the training went well, a long few days.

“I asked about Nishesh Basavareddy (Djokovic’s first-round opponent) and he said he practiced with him a few years ago and got a feel for him. But he must have watched a lot of videos too.”

So was it always clear to them that Murray would eventually make the short walk from the court to the coaching box? “Yes,” Delgado says immediately. “Whether he wanted to do it or not was another matter, but could he be a great coach? Naturally.’

Says Petchey, “I always thought he would coach. He likes tennis too much. It’s an addiction for those types of players. He has to fill the void, right? He fills it with golf, and he pursues that to perfection, but I always had the feeling that he would come back to tennis.

“I thought it would take 18 to 24 months, but having the opportunity to work with Novak is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and he took it.”

Murray admits he found it demanding to switch roles just four months into his retirement, and Delgado agrees.

He actually had a player/coach overlap before mentoring his then-doubles partner Gilles Muller full-time and he agrees the shift is a challenge.

“I think the most important thing is the feeling that you are there for someone else,” says Delgado.

“Andy has had his team there for him throughout his career, everything revolves around him. What time does he eat, what time does he exercise, what time do we fly, everything is what is best for him.

“With that completely changing, everything now is what’s best for Novak and that’s a pretty big change mentally.

‘I think that is the biggest challenge. When it comes to real tennis, I think he has mastered that.”