‘He Was Always There’ – Emotional Novak Djokovic Sheds Light on the Importance of Ex-Coach Boris Becker in His Life

Published 04/12/2023, 5:35 PM EDT

Novak Djokovic will go down in history as a tennis legend. However, his success is not only because of his exceptional talent. His coaches have also helped him develop over the years. Boris Becker was one of several high-profile coaches who trained Djokovic, and during their three-year association, Djokovic bagged a whopping 6 Grand Slams.

Djokovic and Becker’s professional relationship came to an end in 2016, but the Serb still looks up to his former coach. His words in the documentary ‘Boom! Boom! Boris Becker vs. The World’ suggest that Becker is more than just a coach for Djokovic.

Split did not sour relationship with Becker, claims Novak Djokovic

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December 2013 marked the beginning of what would eventually turn out to be one of the most successful player-coach relationships in tennis history. Djokovic’s head coach at the time wanted to spend more time with his family, and Becker stepped up to replace him.

In the documentary, Djokovic maintains how he “kept the relationship going,” with Becker, even after they chose different paths in 2016. Djokovic went on to say, “Like, we never stopped. Because, you know he was always there. He’s still there. Boris is family to me, you know.”

When Becker assumed the role of Djokovic’s head coach, the Serb was low on confidence. Undoubtedly, he had the talent, but his confidence in the biggest stages was still lacking. Becker came in and used his unconventional coaching methods to motivate Djokovic, and it eventually paid dividends.

Boris Becker Details One ‘Big Mistake’ of Novak Djokovic That Distances Him From Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

The Djokovic-Becker saga’s success started at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships

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The first Grand Slam Djokovic went into with Becker, as his head coach was the 2014 Australian Open. Unfortunately, the pair’s chemistry was still in its nascent stages at the time, and Djokovic bowed out of the competition in the quarterfinal stage.

However, at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships, things clicked into gear, and Djokovic went all the way to the final. Along the way, Djokovic had to face some stiff challenges from the likes of Radek Stepanek and Marin Čilić. However, he overcame them all, and he set up a date with none other than the ‘King of Grass’ Roger Federer.

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The nearly four-hour final saw both Djokovic and Federer giving it their all. Ultimately, the Serb defeated the Swiss legend after five grueling sets. It was the start of something beautiful, as the Becker-Djokovic combination made way to the ‘best’ years of his career.

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Written by:

Sudipto is a Tennis writer at EssentiallySports. He completed his graduation in Journalism and Mass Communication in 2012. His passion for writing became a full-time profession in 2019 after working as a musician and travelling educator.

Edited by:

Tony Thomas

‘He Was Always There’ – Emotional Novak Djokovic Sheds Light on the Importance of Ex-Coach Boris Becker in His Life

Split did not sour relationship with Becker, claims Novak Djokovic

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The Djokovic-Becker saga’s success started at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships