Remaining coy about his future coaching intentions with Novak Djokovic, Boris Becker has predicted a tough 2017 for newly crowned number one Andy Murray following his recent triumph at the ATP World Tour Finals.
Murray dethroned Djokovic from the top of the Emirates rankings earlier this year at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris. Then at the year-end championships in London, the Brit underlined his position at the top of the rankings with a straight sets win over Djokovic in the final of the tournament. Murray’s somewhat one-sided win at the O2 Arena is one that that still leaves Becker perplexed about what exactly went wrong.
“I couldn’t believe how badly he (Djokovic) played on the Sunday given the circumstances. That was probably, under my guidance, the worst match he has played and two weeks on I still don’t know what happened.” Said Becker during an extensive interview with The Daily Mail.
Set to headline the Australian Open for the first time in his career, the telling factor for Murray will be in the second half of 2017 where he will have a barrage of points to defend. Taking time off earlier this year for the birth of his first child, Murray didn’t win a title during the first four months of 2016.
“I still think he is going to be riding the wave coming to Australia, and in the American events in March, because that was the only time he played badly this year.” Becker said of Murray.
“I think he is going to start to feel it in May. It’s one thing playing up with nothing to lose but it’s a whole new ball game when you’ve got something to lose, the consequences of being world No1. There are responsibilities and expectations so it becomes more strenuous. But I think he will be fine until the clay court swing.”
Former world No.1 Becker will be keeping a close eye on how Murray fairs next year, but where from is still uncertain. Guiding Djokovic since 2013, growing uncertainty has been raised about what the future holds for both men, who has dodged questions about the topic in recent weeks. The past six months have been some of the most challenging for the Djokovic camp with his struggles with Injury and motivational issues since the French Open.
“I truly enjoyed the last three years, I had a blast,’ the 48-year-old reflectively said about his time with Djokovic. ‘I was in my element and I will continue to be in my element in the future. No regrets, it was an unbelievable ride.’
It is impossible to decode if Becker’s talk in the past tense signals the ending of his successful collaboration with Djokovic. Under his guidance, the Serbian has won an incredible 25 titles on the ATP Tour, six of which were in grand slam tournaments.
It has been confirmed that negotiations involving Becker’s future are ongoing, but no details have been released. With or without Becker by his side, Djokovic will begin his new season in four weeks time at the Doha Open.
