"He's looking for something different right now": Boris Becker won't reunite with Novak Djokovic in coaching capacity

Boris Becker insisted that it is not in his plans to become Novak Djokovic's coach. The 24-times Grand Slam champion split from Goran Ivanisevic after the elimination in the third round of Indian Wells and after five years of working together.

Since the announcement in March, Djokovic has been without a coach, although several recognized names have been linked with the world No. 1. Nole recently trained with Nenad Zimonjic, although claims about him as a successor have already been dismissed. Other names linked include Judy Murray, Amelie Mauresmo, and Boris Becker.

The 56-year-old Becker previously worked with the Serbian between 2013 and 2016, and they maintain a good relationship to this day. However, the German recently insisted that they are pursuing different opportunities: "I think he’s looking for something different right now. I’m not sure he knows exactly what that is," the 6-times Grand Slam champion told The Telegraph.

"He’s always going to be a close friend of mine, we always speak about tennis. But I couldn’t possibly be his coach again because I’ve done that. It would be stepping back," Boris Becker added.

The German also commented on Djokovic's withdrawal from the Madrid Open. After exiting in the semifinals of the Monte-Carlo Masters, the Serbian announced that he would not be in Madrid but did not give clear reasons for his absence, causing surprise in the tennis world, including Becker: "I was surprised by his Madrid decision. I think at this stage he needs matches," he said.

"He needs the competition. But he has his own schedule. I think winning gold for Serbia [at the Olympics in Paris] is his main tournament so maybe he’s already scheduling himself to be still fresh for July. This could be a reason. You can never underestimate him or count him out."