Novak Djokovic enjoyed great success under the guidance of Boris Becker, winning six Grand Slam titles.
The German ATP Tour legend joined Djokovic’s coaching team ahead of the 2014 season, where they won their first Grand Slam title together at Wimbledon.
Capping off their first season together with the ATP Finals title in London, the pair headed into 2015 with the wind firmly in their sails.
The 38-year-old won his fifth Australian Open title in January, before Djokovic lost to Stan Wawrinka in the French Open final.
Bouncing back in SW19, Djokovic returned to the Wimbledon final, where he was ‘yelled’ at by his coach after losing the second set.
Boris Becker yelled ‘pull yourself together’ to Novak Djokovic during the 2015 Wimbledon final
During the Becker Petkovic podcast, Becker remembered Djokovic’s 2015 Wimbledon final against Roger Federer.
“So, [Novak] Djokovic, final against Roger Federer at Wimbledon. He hasn’t won for a long time,” said Becker.
“I had my idea of how he should play against Roger. He won the first set, but he lost the second.
“He had several set points in the tiebreak. Then there was a rain break, and he went into the locker room right next to the media.”
Becker, a man who knows his way around Wimbledon, made sure to give Djokovic some advice before heading back onto the court.
“You couldn’t get in there as a coach, but I’m a member and I know my way around the media, I scurried around the judges,” he said.
“I told Novak [Djokovic], in plain English ‘You’re doing everything right, pull yourself together, the strategy is right. You’re much younger than Roger’.
“I really yelled at him and he just watched, I don’t think he thought I could speak English so clearly. But if I want to, I can.”
His words of wisdom certainly helped, as the Serb went on to win the next two sets, lifting the title with a 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 win.
“He went out and won the match,” said Becker.
“There are times when the coach just has to go and tell the player, stick to your strategy, hang in there, you’re the better player.”
Some consider the 2015 Wimbledon final to be a turning point in Federer and Djokovic’s Grand Slam rivalry.
The pair were 6-6 at the Grand Slam level before stepping onto Centre Court in 2015, after which Djokovic never lost again on the biggest stages.
| Match | Winner | Loser | Score |
| 2020 Australian Open – SF | Novak Djokovic | Roger Federer | 7-6, 6-4, 6-3 |
| 2019 Wimbledon – SF | Novak Djokovic | Roger Federer | 7-6, 1-6, 7-6, 4-6, 13-12 |
| 2016 Australian Open – SF | Novak Djokovic | Roger Federer | 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 |
| 2015 US Open – F | Novak Djokovic | Roger Federer | 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 |
| 2015 Wimbledon – F | Novak Djokovic | Roger Federer | 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 |
| 2014 Wimbledon – F | Novak Djokovic | Roger Federer | 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 5-7, 6-4 |
| 2012 Wimbledon – SF | Roger Federer | Novak Djokovic | 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 |
| 2012 French Open – SF | Novak Djokovic | Roger Federer | 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 |
| 2011 US Open – SF | Novak Djokovic | Roger Federer | 6-7, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 |
| 2011 French Open – SF | Roger Federer | Novak Djokovic | 7-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 |
| 2011 Australian Open – SF | Novak Djokovic | Roger Federer | 7-6, 7-5, 6-4 |
| 2010 US Open – SF | Novak Djokovic | Roger Federer | 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 |
| 2009 US Open – SF | Roger Federer | Novak Djokovic | 7-6, 7-5, 7-5 |
| 2008 US Open – SF | Roger Federer | Novak Djokovic | 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 |
| 2008 Australian Open – SF | Novak Djokovic | Roger Federer | 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 |
| 2007 US Open – F | Roger Federer | Novak Djokovic | 7-6, 7-6, 6-4 |
| 2007 Australian Open – 4R | Roger Federer | Novak Djokovic | 6-2, 7-5, 6-3 |
Only Djokovic will know how influential Becker’s speech was for him, as he began to dominate the rivalry.
Andrea Petkovic thinks Boris Becker did something 99.9% of people would be too ‘scared’ to do
Becker’s co-host Andrea Petkovic weighed in on the German’s interaction with Djokovic during the 2015 Wimbledon final, praising him for having ‘balls’.
“If you work with stars, you have to have the balls,” she said.
“Novak Djokovic, one of the best players of all time at the time, now he is the best player of all time according to numbers, but back then, already one of the best, to go and rip into him, not everyone would do that.
“I’d even say 99.9% of people wouldn’t do it because it’s Novak Djokovic and you’re scared that A) he’ll fire you, B) give you the finger, C) maybe even have you arrested and deported to Serbia, I don’t know.”
Petkovic believes that’s why ‘super coaches’ are so important in tennis.
“Super coaches are important for this. They also have an ego, they have also done their own thing, they are not dependent on the player keeping them on the team anyway,” she said.
“They have their own life, their own identity.”
Becker then named two ‘super coaches’ in modern tennis, who are currently in charge of the top two players on the ATP Tour.
“When it comes down to it, in the second week of a Grand Slam [Juan Carlos] Ferrero, he was number one, and [Darren] Cahill, [Jannik] Sinner’s coach, they make the difference at the end of a tennis match, because they’ve already had that experience themselves,” he said.
Ferrero and Cahill will certainly hope their experience can guide Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner to glory when the 2025 French Open begins on Sunday, May 25.
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