Novak Djokovic admits it was “weird” having Andy Murray working as his coach, but said he would benefit from having one of his biggest rivals look at his game in a “fresh light”. I believe.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion also spoke of his frustration at having been “kept in the dark” over Jannik Sinner's doping scandal, accusing competition authorities of double standards and a lack of transparency.
Murray, who retired at the age of 37 after this summer's Olympics, made the shock decision to join Djokovic's team in November and recently spent 10 days with Djokovic in Serbia in preparation for the new season. Murray will not be with Djokovic at this week's Brisbane International, but the two-time Wimbledon champion is expected to join up with Djokovic in Melbourne for training ahead of the Australian Open.
“Being on the same side of the net is really nice for a change of pace, because he's one of my biggest rivals,” Djokovic said on the ATP website. “It was kind of weird sharing secrets about how I feel on the court, what I'm going through, what I'm thinking, how I see my game.”Always at the top who was one of his rivals.
“But I'm very happy and very grateful that he agreed to work with me here in Australia. The 10 days we spent together were truly amazing. I enjoyed every minute of it. He's very meticulous, very dedicated, and very professional. As one of my biggest competitors, he has a unique perspective on my game. I know the strengths and weaknesses of the game.
“He was also playing on tour not too long ago, so he knows all the other best players in the world right now, the young players and the weaknesses and strengths of their games, so I'm really looking forward to it.
“I think he brings a fresh look to my game and I can definitely benefit from that on the tennis court, but he also has that champion mentality that he has. I am confident that we will be a very good match.”
Djokovic partnered Nick Kyrgios in the doubles match in Brisbane and joined the Australian in harshly criticizing Sinner and Iga Swiatek's handling of positive doping tests.
In August, it was announced that Sinner was found not guilty after failing two doping tests in March, and in November, Swiatek was sentenced to a one-month suspension for failing tests due to drug contamination. .
After newsletter promotion
“This is not a good image for our sport and it doesn't look good,” Djokovic told Sky Sports. “I believe in the last 20-plus years that I've played on the Pro Tour, we've been one of the cleanest sports. What I'm wondering about is how the system actually works. The question is, does it work, and why certain players are not treated the same as others?
“We have been kept in the dark about Jannik's case. I am not concerned with whether he intentionally took a banned substance or not. I believe in clean sport and I believe in players doing everything they can to play fair, and I've known Jannik since I was a kid, and I don't think he's the type of person who would do that. Similarly, I've been really frustrated too. [have]it turns out that we were kept in the dark for 5 months. ”
