Tim Henman: I want to see Novak Djokovic struggle this season
Tim Henman admits he wants to see Novak Djokovic ‘struggle’ at the start of next season – just to see how his dynamic with new coach Andy Murray plays out.
Djokovic appointed his former rival Murray as his coach for the early part of the 2025 season at least, stating how important it is that at this stage of his career he has a coach who knows what it’s like at the very top of the game.
It came out of the blue and has created one of the most interesting sub-plots to the upcoming season, which will start with Djokovic’s bid to win an 11th Australian Open title.
For Henman, though, he’s just as curious as the rest of us to see just how the two huge personalities will mix in the pressure moments.
“Who’s going to shout at who? I’m definitely intrigued,” Henman 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.
“And we can see how Andy Murray deals with it being on the receiving end. But it’s going to be fun to watch.”
Murray retired from playing in the summer after years of battling a major hip problem, and there was always a lot of speculation as to what his next move would be.
Many thought him more likely to enter the media than coaching, but Henman said he is not surprised by the former world number one’s decision.
Asked why he thought Murray accepted the role, he said: “At the end of the day, Andy’s the one that’s got to answer that question, what was the motivation?
“But I always felt that he would go into coaching. I didn’t think it would be this quick, but when you get the opportunity to work with one of the greatest players in the history of our sport, then perhaps he viewed it as too good an opportunity to turn down.
“So, as I said, fascinated to hear about the off-season when they’re practising in Spain and then going into the Australian Open to see how the relationship evolves. It just adds another great storyline around the Australian Open in 2025.”
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