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What Andy Murray was doing courtside during Novak Djokovic’s first round match which caught Laura Robson by surprise

Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
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Novak Djokovic has begun his bid for a historic 25th Grand Slam title, coming from a set down to beat American qualifier Nishesh Basavareddy.

Djokovic and Andy Murray got their coaching partnership off to a positive start, with the Serbian collecting his 95th singles win at the Australian Open.

The match between Djokovic and Basavareddy caused frustration for fans, as it was taking place at the same time as both Carlos Alcaraz and Nick Kyrgios’ respective first round encounters in Melbourne.

Despite losing in four sets, Basavareddy showcased the skills that Djokovic had praised prior to the match especially in the first set.

However, the 10-time Australian Open champion proved to be too much in the end after coming through in just under three hours on Rod Laver Arena.

TENNIS-AUS-OPEN
Photo by DAVID GRAY/AFP via Getty Images

Andy Murray surprises Laura Robson in Novak Djokovic coaching role

With it being the first match that Murray has accompanied Djokovic, fans were eagle-eyed and looking for what the Brit might bring as a coach.

This was even more of a factor due to the new coaches area with players’ teams able to seat courtside, something that Djokovic has praised the Australian Open for.

When speaking on Eurosport, Laura Robson revealed that she had noticed something during Djokovic’s post-match press interview and also commented on how she was surprised by Murray’s demeanour in the coaching box.

“I did manage to keep an eye on him [Murray],” said Robson. “I was even looking at the end to see if he would stay for the interview. He did not. He was out of their pronto. I don’t think he is used to sitting down and watching a match for three hours, which actually he was stretching his back out at the end, it was tough.

“I was surprised by how vocal he was. I was surprised to hear come on Novak, keep the energy up and he was even giving some hand signals too. It was more than I thought we were going to get.”

Who will Novak Djokovic play next at the Australian Open?

After winning the first round match in his 20th appearance at the Australian Open, Djokovic will now play Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria.

If Djokovic is able to come through this match, he could face a rematch from the Brisbane International against Reilly Opelka.

Opelka beat Djokovic in straight sets in that meeting, with the extremely tall American’s serve causing major problems for the world number seven.

Stage in tournamentNovak Djokovic’s Potential Opponents
Second RoundJaime Faria
Third RoundReilly Opelka/Tomas Machac
Fourth RoundJiri Lehecka/Hugo Gaston/Benjamin Bonzi/Francesco Passaro
Quarter FinalCarlos Alcaraz/Jack Draper/Sebastian Korda/Jorda Thompson
Semi FinalAlexander Zverev/Casper Ruud/Tommy Paul/Ugo Humbert
FinalJannik Sinner/Taylor Fritz/Daniil Medvedev/Alex de Minaur

Djokovic will next step onto the Australian Open matchcourt on Thursday January 16 against the aforementioned Faria.