MELBOURNE: Australian tennis great Sam Stosur has watched with interest Andy Murray's first stint as a coach at a grand slam and she admits she's been impressed by how seriously he's taken the role, which includes a whole range of duties that have to be done without fanfare.
Murray, who is renowned for his high tennis IQ, was hired by Novak Djokovic late last year, with the Serbian looking for an edge to help him win more majors to add to his tally of 24 in the twilight of his career.
Like many in the tennis world, Stosur was "absolutely" surprised that Murray agreed to take on the role so soon after retiring from professional tennis and disclosed that she'd been taken aback again when passing the three-time grand slam winner in the corridors of Melbourne Park.
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"I tell you, I saw Andy walking through the corridors the other day with all Novak's racquets, taking them to the stringer… He's taking this job very seriously, you know, he wants to tick every box he possibly can, I'm sure," Stosur told Wide World of Sports' The Morning Serve.
Andy Murray carries Novak Djokovic's racquets through the players only area at Melbourne Park. Nine
While menial daily tasks are part and parcel of the coaching job for most who agree to shadow a top tennis player on the tour, where Murray will add most value, according to Stosur, is with insights she described as "1 per centers" to add to Djokovic's game plan.
A player of Murray's tennis IQ would likely have found chinks in the armour of many of the Serbian star's greatest rivals for the biggest trophies in the sport, and it's these bits of information Djokovic would mine, said Stosur.
"So again, talking about 1 per centers, Andy might have one little tidbit he can talk about and if he can pass it on to Novak, as opposed to some of his previous coaches, then who knows, it might make the difference for him to keep going," Stosur said.
"Without a doubt, he's got an incredible tennis mind. We've seen him work through lots of matches of his own and he would know Novak's game inside out from the times they've played each other, so Andy's there to do a good job.
"There's actually a bit of pressure too, because if you don't (provide an edge) he's not going to win grand slams and that's not so great."
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Both Djokovic and Murray are well known for letting their emotions spill over during times of stress on the court and Stosur said it had been fascinating to watch them interact as a team so far.
Djokovic has had a relatively simple run through the 2025 Australian Open, dropping just two sets in his three matches to date, helping contain his temper to a degree, yet even if he becomes agitated in the matches to come, Stosur thinks the proximity of Murray in the new courtside coaching pod, might prevent a raging row.
"He hasn't been under too much pressure so far either, and Andy didn't mind giving it to his coaching box either, so I don't know, I wonder if being in the coaching pod down on the court will change it as well," Stosur pondered.
"Sometimes when they're up high, a little bit further away, you can kind of yell and get into it and it doesn't seem quite so aggressive as if they were down on court level doing it, so we'll see how the coaching pod plays out for Novak and Andy."
