EXCLUSIVE: Why 'April Fools' union is no joke for Novak's rivals

MELBOURNE: One of the more unlikely tennis pairings will face its first public test on Monday night when Novak Djokovic meets Nishesh Basavareddy in the first round of the Australian Open.

The match itself - between arguably the greatest men's player ever and an unheralded American - may well turn out to be unremarkable.

But all eyes at Rod Laver Arena will be trained on the dynamics between Djokovic - a record 10 time champion in Melbourne - and Andy Murray, the fellow great with whom he waged many a fierce battle from the other side of the net.

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Murray retired in August last year and shortly after received a call from Djokovic in his car - having just told his golfing partner that he did not want to become a tennis coach just yet.

But the unlikely lure of working with the Serbian superstar was too good to turn down and, after sign off from his family, the Scot is now in Djokovic's corner.

Watching on with the rest of the tennis world - but with a unique perspective - will be Mark Petchey.

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Petchey is a former professional player who coached Murray before becoming a respected analyst now working for Stan Sport.

Petchey sat down with Wide World of Sports to discuss the unlikely union.

WWOS: What was your initial reaction when you heard the news?

Petchey: I checked my calendar! I was like 'it's the first of April' but it obviously wasn't. It was a surprise, around the time that Rafa (Nadal) was retiring so it all sort of merged into one.

Initially I thought it was very strange - 'wow, Andy getting back on the road?' I was surprised. I always thought he'd go into coaching but I thought he'd have 18-24 months at home and play his golf that he's heavily involved in now, trying to get as good as he can. I thought he might coach a Brit at home where it's a bit more convenient.

But the more I thought about it, the more I thought, you know what, this actually makes a lot of sense in its own unique way.

The way that Andy sees the game will be a huge asset to Novak as he tries to get that 25th grand slam but also overcome some serious opposition in the shape of Carlos (Alcaraz) and Jannik (Sinner).

WWOS: What is your relationship with Andy like now?

Petchey: Yeah fine, but we haven't spoken too much recently and I certainly haven't dug into everything that's happening with Novak.

He wouldn't tell me anyway but from an outsider's point of view, having known Andy, I can see the perfect logic of this partnership.

I think Novak needed something else. And this is definitely something else - having a former rival that was on the other side of the net trying to steal your dream away and the trophies that you wanted.

To suddenly come and help you make history would be a hell of a story. I think he needed that spark of inspiration. It's definitely unique and it's left field but in many ways makes perfect logic.

WWOS: From a personal point of view, it must be a full circle feeling? Having coached Andy as a young man and now he's coaching probably the greatest player of all time...

Petchey: It really is. Andy was always going to be great in my opinion. Ever since I saw him at 16 - it's been a privilege to be inside the ropes, but also outside the ropes, watching his journey as a junior, as a pro, and then to becoming world No.1 in 2016.

Tennis is like an addiction for these type of players. It's very tough to fill that void after you put your racquet up, which is why I always thought Andy would go into coaching.

But to go into the top job in men's tennis - that's a big jump. It's nice to have that reputation that allows you to do that.

WWOS: What on earth do you teach or tell Novak Djokovic about playing tennis? It's a crazy position to be in...

Petchey: It's a great question. I've spent time thinking about it. It's an unusual setup, let's be honest. You wouldn't have got (Ivan) Lendl and (John) McEnroe hooking up a few months after retiring.

(Jimmy) Connors or any of those guys, I couldn't imagine (Boris) Becker and (Stefan) Edberg coaching each other. But actually, I think there's a two-fold thing. One, obviously everyone knows Andy's got a very high tennis IQ. So if there is a weakness in Carlos' or Jannik's game that Novak needs to see, Andy will pick it up.

Novak himself is obviously super astute when it comes to those sort of things, but the old adage that two heads is better than one in that department will be very good.

But I also think that Andy can say 'when I played you, I found this incredibly difficult.' And maybe just reiterate what has made Novak such a great champion. Don't change your game too much away from what has already brought you 24 grand slams and being the 'GOAT' of all the statistics that men's tennis has.

That is what made you so difficult to beat. So don't feel like you need to switch your game 180 degrees because when I was playing you, this was incredibly difficult to counter and it will still be difficult for people like Jannik and Carlos to counter. They would be my two bullet points when I look at the meeting of the minds.

WWOS: What are your first memories of Andy?

Petchey: I saw him first when he was 16, at a futures event in Craiglockhart in Scotland. It was a bullet fast indoor court and he had more time on the ball than anybody else.

You can't teach that kind of thing.

WWOS: I personally enjoy Murray's personality but not everyone does. Does his brain work a bit differently to most, in how he views both tennis and life?

Petchey: He's very down to earth. He's obviously super detail-orientated. He loves the I's dotted and T's crossed with everything and that's always been a big reason why he's been so successful because he's never left anything to chance.

He sees the game incredibly. He sees the court space and he's super aware of what people's strengths and weaknesses are and how to unpick those. He's like a great code breaker out there, a great safe breaker. He sees what you're trying to secure your end with and he's able to unpick that. But he obviously had the full tool kit as well, had a full repertoire of shots.

He liked to come in, he had a great slice, obviously his passing shots were some of the best that the game's ever seen.

To be able to see the game like that is one thing, but also to be able to counter it on another player is where his great strengths were.

Andy just knew that he would be able to do something and I don't know if everybody has the level of self belief that he had in his game.

I remember in 2006 in Bangkok, he hit one of the best passing shots that I've ever seen, a backhand on a postage stamp.

I was having dinner with him after and he looked deadpan at me and said, 'Mark, if I'd have missed that, I'd have killed myself.'

And he wasn't joking. In his head, that was just a 10 out of 10 makeable pass. For most people you're thinking like 'I've hit that unbelievably well.' Those guys have a different perspective.

WWOS: There's not many people on the planet that can go toe-to-toe with Djokovic. Does that respect mean he will be able to accept some forthright criticism in the heat of battle?

Petchey: The challenge for both of them is going to be in the cauldron of competition when he's battling a set all with either somebody he feels like he shouldn't be - or even somebody he feels like he should be - like Carlos or Jannik or Daniil.

You'll know how that relationship at that point gels, because that's when the pressure's on. In terms of respect, that's obviously one of the other reasons why Novak's gone there because there's very few people that are going to understand who he is and also understand the pressure of what Novak's going through.

Andy's going to be one of the few people on the planet right now with that kind of recent history. Sometimes as a coach - you don't just put dinner on the table, you put the truth and Andy's going to be the person that can do that.