Djokovic turns to Becker as coach

Novak Djokovic's new coach, Boris Becker, is set to renew his rivalry with Ivan Lendl, who coaches Andy Murray
19 December 2013

Boris Becker and Ivan Lendl will renew rivalries at the Australian Open in a month's time - 23 years after Melbourne Park played host to their last ever meeting in a grand slam final.

Becker has been named as the new head coach of world number two Novak Djokovic in a move that mirrors Andy Murray's appointment of Lendl two years ago.

Lendl is credited with helping the current world number four break his grand slam duck, with his first major title coming at the 2012 US Open before he became the first British men's champion at Wimbledon in 77 years this past summer.

While Djokovic, already a six-time major winner, is in a very different place in his career compared with Murray two years ago, the 26-year-old Serbian is seemingly in need of fresh impetus after a 2013 campaign that saw him win just one grand slam title and cede the world number one ranking to Rafael Nadal.

And perhaps mindful of the stunning success Murray has enjoyed under Lendl's guidance, it maybe should not come as a surprise that he has made a similar appointment.

Certainly comparisons between Becker and Lendl are there to be made. Both men shot to prominence in the 1980s as leading lights of a new breed of hard-hitting 'power' players and went on to become multiple grand slam champions - Becker winning six titles from 10 major final appearances and Lendl eight from 19.

They also crossed swords in three grand slam finals, starting at Wimbledon in 1986 - when Becker retained the title he had won a year earlier at the age of 17 - then again at the 1989 US Open - when Becker again prevailed - and finally at the 1991 Australian Open.

That last meeting - won again by Becker - was the last grand slam final between the two, but come January 26 they could again find themselves facing off in the showpiece match on Rod Laver Arena - albeit this time guiding their charges from the stands.

Djovokic is the three-time defending champion at Melbourne Park and will be bidding four his fifth Australian Open crown next month. Murray, meanwhile, has been runner-up Down Under three times - losing to Djokovic in 2011 and 2013 - and few would bet against the pair going all the way again next month, this time with the added spice of a tactical battle between Lendl and Becker.

"I am proud Novak invited me to become his head coach," Becker said on Djokovic's official website, novakdjokovic.com. "I will do my best to help him reach his goals, and I am sure we can achieve great things together."

Becker joins an existing coaching team formerly headed by Marian Vajda, who will remain part of the set-up in a reduced role. Miljan Amanovic and Gebhard Phil-Gritsch will also be retained on Djokovic's team.

Becker will work to prepare Djokovic for the first grand slam of the season in Melbourne, which starts on January 13, and will also accompany him to the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, as well as tournaments in Dubai, Miami, Monte Carlo, Rome, Cincinnati, Shanghai, Paris and the season-ending World Tour Finals in London.

Djokovic hopes Becker's experience can help him get back to the top of the world rankings after being dethroned by Nadal last year.

"I am really excited to have the opportunity to work with Boris. He is a true legend, someone who has great tennis knowledge and his experience will help me win new trophies from the grand slams and other tournaments," said Djokovic, who on Wednesday was named the 2013 International Tennis Federation world champion, narrowly edging out Nadal for the accolade.

"Becker is a great person, too, and I am sure he will fit in our team in the best possible way.

"Boris brings new fresh approach, and together with Vajda he will make a winning combination.

"My goal for 2014 is to play my best tennis and to get in shape for the grand slams and Masters 1000. These tournaments have the most weight in our sport, and I want to prove my worth at them."

Vajda, who has worked with Djokovic since 2006, will attend events in Indian Wells, Madrid, Toronto and Beijing as part of his scaled-back role, but welcomed Becker's arrival.

"I realised that Novak needed a new head coach in order for him to continue improving certain parts of the game," said Vajda. "At the same time, I will have more time for my family.

"Choosing Boris as a head coach is a good solution, I am sure we will get along very well, and that Novak will continue to progress."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in