DJOKOVIC ADVISER/COACH BORIS BECKER IS VALUABLE WHILE IN BROADCAST BOOTH

Written by: Staff on 3rd September 2014

DJOKOVIC ADVISER/COACH BORIS BECKER IS VALUABLE WHILE IN BROADCAST BOOTH

epa04302551 Novak Djokovic's coach Boris Becker on Centre Court during the men's final match between Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Roger Federer of Switzerland at the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 06 July 2014. EPA/ANDY RAIN |

Boris Becker is perfectly placed to provide tactical information for his coaching charge Novak Djokovic before tonight’s US Open quarterfinal showdown with Andy Murray. As a part-time member of Britain’s Sky Sports commentary team , Becker has been courtside for nearly all of the 2012 champion’s four matches so far and has picked up a few pertinent points.

Most importantly Djokovic has played three and a half hours less than Murray during a first nine days of the event when conditions have been physically brutal because of heat and humidity. And Becker believes that is a massive plus in favour of his man.

“They are very similar, classical counter punchers who can move very quickly from the baseline,” said Becker, stressing a relief that this match will be played in the cooler evening conditions. “Both have very good first serves, they are like chess players on a tennis court. They are masters of that and maybe why they have such long marathon matches and the quality is unbelievable.

“There is not much difference between them. It is all about who is better on the day; who has more confidence and so it’s up to them to show who is the best. It is always a battle , always has the potential to be an epic.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia hits a return to Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany during the eighth day of the 2014 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 01 September 2014. The US Open runs through 08 September, a 15-day schedule. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO

Andy Murray of Great Britain serves to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France during the eighth day of the 2014 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 01 September 2014. The US Open runs through 08 September, a 15-day schedule. EPA/JUSTIN LANE

“This rivalry goes all the way back to when they were juniors together. The top guys are never really close but they got as close as possible. There is a lot of respect for each other and all the ingredients are there for a potential classic.”

Becker guided Djokovic to the Wimbledon title just a little more than eight weeks ago and said: “If you want to win the tournament you do need to spend as little time as possible on court in the early rounds. Of course, that’s not always possible because you’re playing tough opponents but if you want to make a serious run at any Grand Slam events, short matches early on are what you want. that’s what you want.

“So I’m obviously very happy Novak played great, won every match in straight sets and they all lasted no more than two hours. This is the way we anticipated him going to the quarterfinal.”

Djokovic prevailed when the pair last met at Miami’s Sony Open earlier this year. “Preparation is always very important, especially when my man is playing one of the best players in the world,” insisted Becker. “Andy hasn’t won a tournament in 15 months but he won here at the US Open two years ago, and then he won Wimbledon, both against Novak in the final.

“It takes special preparation to play Andy Murray and we’re going to spend the next 24 hours trying to get ready.”

Topics: Andy Murray, Boris Becker, Novak Djokovic, Tennis, US Open

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10sBalls_com says:

September 3, 2014 at 10:12 am

@DjokerNole ADVISER/COACH @TheBorisBecker IS VALUABLE WHILE IN BROADCAST BOOTH- http://t.co/7JGwoIPpKA #tennis #USOpen #djokovicvsmurray