DUBAI: Last December, Novak Djokovic shocked the sports world by announcing he had hired his long-time rival and recently retired Andy Murray to be his coach.
The pair played each other 36 times on the professional tour, faced off in seven Grand Slam finals, and represented half of the fabled “Big Four” that dominated tennis headlines for over a decade.
Djokovic said one of the main reasons he chose Murray was because he needed someone in his corner who had gone through the same experiences.
The partnership made its debut in Australia last month and following, his Qatar Open exit in Doha on Tuesday, Djokovic told the ATP Tour’s in-house media channel that Murray will continue to coach him indefinitely.
“It is indefinite in terms of how long we are going to work together, but we agreed most likely in the States and some clay court tournaments. We will see how it goes after that,” said the 24-time Grand Slam champion.
In light of this partnership, Arab News asked players on the Women’s Tennis Association tour at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open and ongoing Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships which of their rivals they would choose as a coach.
Some players chose those possessing a high tennis IQ, others opted for players they struggle to beat, and some said they valued a person’s positivity and energy over tactical nous.
World No.2 Iga Swiatek mentioned retired German player Andrea Petkovic, now a popular commentator, close rival and current No.1 Aryna Sabalenka as another pick.
“Petkovic is not playing anymore but I heard she has a really great eye and I always liked her, so I think we would get along. I don’t know, maybe Aryna. She’s older than me and maybe she’s going to finish earlier (than me) and that would be funny,” said Swiatek.
Meanwhile, former world No.4 Caroline Garcia said: “Ash Barty will not be bad.”
Tunisian three-time major finalist Ons Jabeur was a popular choice, with both Paula Badosa and Emma Raducanu naming her as the rival they’d choose to coach them.
“By far I would pick Ons Jabeur. I think we would connect very well. She knows very good about tennis, but especially emotionally,” said Badosa, the world No.10 and recent Australian Open semifinalist.
“I say that because also we played doubles. And sometimes when you’re playing doubles you have to coach each other. There are some moments that one is playing better than the other, so we do it already, and we feel very comfortable both of us, so I would pick her by far.”
And 2021 US Open champion Raducanu said: “I would want Ons Jabeur to coach me because I think she has an amazing energy. I think she’s a really caring person, really generous person. Funny but has a great eye for the game and is obviously pretty tactical as well with the way she plays and has a lot at her disposal. So maybe one day, Ons.”
Swiss Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic chose Liudmila Samsonova, who has a 5-1 head-to-head record against her.
“I want to know what she would do, so I can beat her, because I cannot beat her. I feel like she’s my biggest rival,” said Bencic with a laugh.
World No.3 Coco Gauff noted how reigning Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova was always courtside watching matches and felt she would be a great resource: “She seems like she’s someone that knows the game and very smart and she’s always at the matches, watching them live. So I feel like she would be a pretty decent coach.”
Jabeur reciprocated Badosa’s sentiments and chose the Spaniard as her hypothetical rival-turned-coach: “Now I’m really biased, because I know Paula said me. I feel like, honestly, Paula has a lot of knowledge. Because you can speak with players and know if they’re doing this, doing that, and that really, really helps you. So maybe I would choose Paula.”
World No.5 Jessica Pegula wrestled with the question for quite some time before settling on her choices. She said: “Ooh, that’s a good question. A close rival to coach me … I feel like it’s different because Novak, he’s already accomplished everything there is to accomplish, so I think he just wanted somebody that he could relate to and, like, mix things up. Obviously, he’s searching for something to keep pushing him.”
Following Bencic’s logic of choosing a rival that frequently beats her, Pegula said: “That's actually funny because I haven’t beaten Belinda, so maybe I should pick her. We have the same issue, so we’ll just pick whoever keeps beating us. Yeah, maybe that’ll work. Barty would be a good one. But she retired, so I didn’t think she counted.
“I think IQ-wise, she would be incredible. So maybe her. And then maybe Belinda because I’m 0-4 against her.”
When told other players were asked the same question, Pegula said: “Did I come up? Did someone pick me?”
