Novak Djokovic needs onsite coaching from Andy Murray to conquer Nishesh Basavareddy

Novak Djokovic faced anxious moments before cranking up his game to outhit 19-year-old American Nishesh Basavareddy in four sets at the Australian Open first round on Monday. Night matches in Melbourne are hot, plus the crowds get behind the underdog. For a set and a half, Novak was not in top gear. The disadvantage of playing someone who is ranked in the 130-region is you don’t know what to expect. And as Novak said later, he had not seen Nishesh till three days ago at practice.

For those fans in India watching the AO, the Indian name of Nishesh is exciting. Truth is, the young man is American, just like a Rajeev Ram. Yet for the boy to step up his game on the big stage was nice. He would not have expected to do so well, from the time he forced an early break. But then, as is the case with players who have nothing to lose, competing against the winner of 24 Grand Slam titles required a large heart. That, Nishesh showed in plenty.

There are new things happening at the Australian Open. A player coaching his protégé is now a reality onsite. If someone had said this a decade back, it would have been scoffed at. On Monday, Andy Murray had to take on the new role as coach of Novak Djokovic literally. He was seated inside the courtside coaching pod and had to bark instructions. For sure, this worked, as there was a change in Novak’s game from the time he was down and bounced back.

Imagine, two players who were fierce rivals and competed against each other several times at the AO were in tandem – coach Andy and trainee Novak. Later, Novak said he would love to get more inputs from his coach. Imagine, so much experience and setting up a strategy for a man who wants to compete fiercely against young champions Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. For someone who has been in tennis for more than three decades, Novak spoke of how the onsite coaching is new. He did benefit from it, so in the 2025 season don’t be surprised if he produces champagne tennis. The will to compete hard, fire himself up and find a new coach who can do wonders makes Novak look good. Forget the 2024 season where he won no Grand Slam but the most important medal – an Olympic gold at Paris 2024.

A year later, and a year older, Novak is not looking at negatives. The Rod Laver arena in Melbourne is a place he has romanced and dominated. It is good he had a tough first round. He will be much better prepared for the next round. That is how he will build up his intensity and go for broke.

Sadly, the other man Aussie fans wanted to win, Nick Kyrgios, was in pain and lost to Briton Jacob Fearnley. Kyrgios returned to tennis with great difficulty. He has been dealing with some injury or the other. As a finalist at Wimbledon in 2022 where he lost to Novak, Kyrgios has faced tough times. On Monday, he was in pain and tears. He said something which makes tennis fans said: “I don’t see myself playing another Australian Open.” No, this was not Nick Kyrgios wanting sympathy but how tough it is. Tennis loves characters and he does entertain people. As it were, with tennis seeing retirements in a sequence from RF (Roger Federer) to Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, Novak is the last man standing from the older generation. Nick Kyrgios may not be in the same league as Roger and Rafa but he is someone who can draw crowds. On Monday as well, fans tried to pump up Nick Kyrgios. Damn, he was in pain and lost, without any excuses offered.