Tag Archives: becker djokovic

The German legend tells Neil Harman what convinced him to answer the call to coach the Serbian world No 2

The smog was lying thick and even across Beijing early in October and Novak Djokovic could not see a way through it. He had just lost his No 1 ranking to Rafael Nadal and although he could retrieve it by the end of the year, it was a pretty tall order. Djokovic had been beaten in the final of the US Open by the same player three weeks earlier and it was gnawing away at him.

The Serb remembered seeing Boris Becker around the courts of the world more often than before; the German was a principal commentator for the BBC at Wimbledon and through his commitment to Sky was on site each day in New York. He was in the locker room, discoursing openly and animatedly, eager to be more involved and connected. Why not? Djokovic contacted his management company and asked if it would test the waters.

Yesterday in Marbella, Becker and Djokovic were back on court, the final touches being put to the preparation for the 2014 campaign that has, with their coupling, an increased dynamic promise. Djokovic is booked to participate in an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi on December 27 against Andy Murray or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga — Becker will be in his box — and the pair head to Melbourne as Djokovic contends for a fourth consecutive Australian Open title. “The fire I once had for tennis has come back,” Becker said yesterday. Expect pyrotechnics.

Djokovic may have been surprised at the speed with which negotiations with the 46-year-old were completed and the announcement of their relationship this week was one of those “did I read that right?” moments.

Andy Murray and Ivan Lendl’s coming together had been a slow burner, with Murray first intrigued, then contemplative and eventually convinced. Djokovic has watched that partnership evolve and although his own situation is different (Becker cannot provide a magic solution to winning the French Open, which he himself could not manage), there is something to be said for employing someone who can come up with the one nugget of brilliant insight that those who have not been in his position cannot hope to understand.

“I can be that 5 per cent, that 10 per cent,” Becker said. “I know it. I feel love for the sport again. I know a lot about it, I read the matches, I’m starting to feel comfortable in the surroundings, whereas once I wasn’t quite sure if I really belonged any more. Now I’m at home.

“I only really commentated at Wimbledon, and that was two weeks of the year, and I disappeared. Then, in the last two or three years, I did some of the Australian and the US Open and there was a different connection. More players would feel like coming up and talking to me in the locker room, the whole atmosphere was better.

“I certainly didn’t have it in mind to coach any one of them; the commentating was time-consuming, but I love doing it and I have a feeling I inspired some players with what I was saying because I had feedback from the likes of Roger [Federer] and Rafael [Nadal]. From the public, as well, there have been a lot of positive comments; it triggered something and it all felt normal to me.”

There is an appreciable leap between saying interesting things in a commentary box and putting your reputation on the line with a player of Djokovic’s distinction. Here is someone who cannot get his head around losing, who plays with a passion and devotion that are enviable and for whom six grand-slam titles are nowhere near an acceptable return on his talents. He is seven grand-slam titles behind Nadal and only a year younger, which is a heck of a lot of ground to make up.

“It was an honour that he should have wanted to speak to me,” said Becker, a fellow six-times grand-slam winner. “My quick answer to his representative was that, yes, I believed I could make a difference but I needed to sit down with him and measure for myself how much he wants this. It doesn’t matter if I want to do this for him, it is about him wanting to do it for himself. It didn’t take long for me to work out what makes him a very special person.”

Two very special champions together can sometimes be an unholy mix. Becker is not going to be like Lendl — they played each other 21 times and did not exactly like the cut of the other’s jib — and retain a stoic demeanour. Nor, it is good to know, does he intend to fly from the player’s box in the manner of his full-length teenage acrobatics.

“That’s the beauty of this,” he said. “I’m not sure how I’m going to react in any given circumstance. I can’t wait to be courtside and see how the experience feels. I want to understand Novak much better. I’m excited by that.”

And Becker insists that, although his title is head coach, he will be bouncing as many ideas as he can off Marian Vajda, the Slovak who has been the coaching constant for the Serb for the past seven years. “Yes, there will be one coach — me — but I’ll be talking to Marian on a weekly basis because no one has been more instrumental in helping Novak to where he is today,” Becker said. “I couldn’t do this without tapping into his knowledge as I’ve done already.”

Considering he has four children, aged from 19 down to 3, it was imperative that Becker talked through this massive change in his life with his wife, Lilly. “She immediately said, ‘What are you thinking about? You have to do this. This is who you are. Tennis is in your DNA. You have the chance to work with one of the best players of the world. You would be insane to turn it down.’ She can be very persuasive. But this is a serious responsibility, I understand that. I got my feet wet in coaching over five years with my Mercedes-Benz team in Germany. I helped Florian Mayer, Nicolas Kiefer and Tommy Haas. I know how to coach.”

Having Becker back in tennis full-time cannot but help the sport’s profile, as if it was not distinct enough. He represents a former golden boy in the latest manifestation of a tennis golden era. “Novak is 26, Andy is 26 and Ivan has brought the mental stability to his game that was not there before. I am convinced he could not have won Wimbledon without him,” Becker said. “Rafa is 27 and can match Roger’s 17 grand slams, Roger will be better and he’s been practising with my old friend Stefan Edberg. I wouldn’t be totally surprised to see Stefan back full time.”

Then there is only John McEnroe to go.