Novak Djokovic got off to a winning start alongside new coach Andy Murray as he battled past Nishesh Basavareddy at the Australian Open.
Djokovic was predicted to be on his ‘best behaviour’ with Murray, who was in the Serbian’s coaching box for his first round match.
The 10-time Australian Open champion, who is seeking a record 25th Grand Slam in Melbourne, was made to work extremely hard for the win.
American teen Basavareddy pushed the 37-year-old all the way at Rod Laver Arena, but Djokovic finally triumphed 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
The ATP number seven has now clinched an Australian Open second round place for an 18th successive year, but it is the first time he has been coached at an event by former rival Murray.
Andy Murray watched Nishesh Basavareddy for 20 hours for Novak Djokovic
Surprised by the pairing when it was announced, former British number one Laura Robson said Murray watches matches ‘for hours and hours’, with the Scot possessing a ‘tennis brain’.
And it appears that he lived up to that label for Djokovic’s opener, with another former British number one in Tim Henman sharing an interaction he had with Murray before the match.
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“I sent him [Andy] a couple of messages saying what do you know and Andy replied saying that he has watched 20 hours of Basavareddy’s game,” Henman said on Eurosport. “That will give Andy an insight and I’m sure Novak will be aware of his game and his strengths.”
Considering the Australian Open draw was only made on Thursday, and Djokovic took to the court on Monday, it is truly a remarkable amount of footage to analyse.
Much of that analysis may have been based on the NextGen ATP Finals last month, where seventh-seed Basavareddy won one and lost two of his group stage matches.
Nishesh Basavareddy surprises Novak Djokovic in their Australian Open first round match
He simply had nothing to lose against the legendary figure, and that was apparent early on in the match as the youngster took the first set.
A frustrated Djokovic constantly turned to Murray, having been outplayed early on by the 19-year-old on his Grand Slam debut.
But after almost three hours, the Serbian used his experience and indeed an injury issue for Basavareddy to complete the comeback.
But even with all of the information from his new coach, Djokovic was left surprised by his opponent, who clearly has a bright future in the sport.
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“To be honest with you I hadn’t seen him play until three or four days ago, so I didn’t really know much about him and these kind of match ups are always tricky and dangerous,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview.
“You are playing someone who has nothing to lose, the first match for him at a Grand Slam level. He’s a very complete player.
“He did pleasantly surprise me with all his shots and fighting spirit towards the end, so I wish him all the best with the rest of his career.”
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