Who’s the perfect tennis player? Djokovic, Murray sit down via Instagram

Instagram Live has become increasingly popular in recent months for some of the biggest names in tennis. Here’s a breakdown of Djokovic and Murray’s recent talk on the platform.

We look back at Andy Murray’s and Novak Djokovic’s Instagram Live session earlier in the lockdown period that attracted over 20,000 tennis fans. They discussed many topics including their first-ever match against each other in the juniors, their perfect player and their favorite place to play.

Rolling back the years

Andy and Novak recalled the first time they played against each other. Both 11 years of age, they first met at a tournament in Tarbes, France. It is a well-known event that attracts the best junior tennis players from all over Europe. To the delight of Murray, they remembered him winning by a convincing scoreline of 6-1, 6-0.

That was a story that did not come so often on the professional tour as Murray trails the head to head 11-25. Murray’s most convincing win over Djokovic on the tour came on his 29th birthday in the ATP Rome Masters 1000 final, wrapped up with a memorable backhand passing shot from way off the court.

If not tennis, what?

Djokovic shed light on his earlier childhood back to when he was a skier. If it wasn’t for his love affair with tennis, he might have had success elsewhere in the sporting world.

The sporting theme continued. Murray told Djokovic that as a youngster he fancied himself as a football player. Football is clearly in Murray’s blood as his grandfather was a professional footballer in the Scottish Football League in the 1950s.

Toughest transition on the tour?

Tennis players are well acclimatized to the change of court surfaces they go through during the season. However, there can be some challenging transitions due to the tournaments played outside of the ATP and WTA tours.

We found out that Djokovic’s toughest transition came in 2013. Within just four days, he went from playing the US Open final on hardcourt to competing in a Davis Cup tie against Canada on indoor clay in Belgrade. Ultimately, these are completely contrasting surfaces and so this answer came as no surprise.

Murray’s toughest transition seemed to be more an issue of fatigue. Murray went from winning Olympic gold at the London 2012 Olympics to competing in Toronto at the Rogers Cup within a couple of days. In fact, the official tournament start date in Canada was the day prior to his final in London.

Changing one result in their careers

Djokovic wished his defeat to Rafael Nadal in the Beijing Olympics semi-final had gone the other way. Djokovic has never made it to a gold medal match at an Olympic Games. His two best results have been bronze medals in Beijing and London.

Murray picked the Roland Garros Final in 2016. In the contest against Djokovic, Murray led by one set to love before losing the next three sets and the match. This was the closest Murray has ever come to the Roland Garros title.

Which combination of players makes up the perfect player?

Murray’s perfect Player

Serve – Nick Kyrgios

Return – Novak Djokovic

Forehand – Rafael Nadal

Backhand – Novak Djokovic

Volley – Roger Federer

Mental – Rafael Nadal

Physical – Novak Djokovic (although mentions Monfils for his physical talent)

Djokovic’s perfect Player

Serve – Nick Kyrgios

Return – Andy Murray

Forehand – Rafael Nadal

Backhand – Andy Murray (although mentions Stan Wawrinka due to his ability to get his opponent off the court and his sheer amount of winners off that side)

Volley – Roger Federer

Mental – Rafael Nadal

Physical – David Ferrer

Favorite city to play in?

Murray told us that Melbourne was his favorite city to play in. Although he has never lifted the Norman Brookes trophy at Melbourne’s Australian Open, he has still had great success there. Five Australian Open final appearances is certainly nothing to sneeze at. Not only this, but Murray also drew on the people and the event organization that makes it so special.

Djokovic, while agreeing with Murray’s choice of Melbourne, also mentioned Monte Carlo and Rome as his preferred destinations on the tour. As most tennis fans witness during the clay-court swing, these two tournaments are utterly stunning settings for tennis.