German tennis legend Boris Becker has revealed that Serbian star Novak Djokovic had approached him to become his coach on the day he lost his world number one ranking, adding that he was surprised and honoured by the approach.
Current world number one Rafael Nadal usurped Djokovic by reaching the China Open final in October, a few weeks after defeating the Serb in the US Open final.
According to the BBC, Becker said that he was approached by Djokovic and his manager while the Serb was playing in Beijing, adding that although he was surprised at the approach, he was also very honoured by it.
Djokovic, who has won six major titles, will start work with Becker before the Australian Open, which starts on January 13, although Becker revealed that he had a number of discussions with Djokovic after the initial contact before deciding he wanted to coach full-time.
Despite winning seven titles in 2013 and beating Andy Murray in the Australian Open final, Djokovic lost not only his number one spot but two Grand Slam finals as well - the four-set US Open defeat by Nadal came after a straight sets loss to Andy Murray at Wimbledon.
The report mentioned that arrival of Becker on Djokovic's coaching staff would put him against Ivan Lendl, Murray's coach, who Becker beat three times in Grand Slam finals, adding that the Serb's long-time coach Marian Vajda will continue as part of his team.