Djokovic’s start may follow Murray’s finale

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA >> Novak Djokovic knows there’s a chance he may not have played his opening match at the Australian Open before Andy Murray is out of the tournament. Perhaps even finished on the tour.

Their careers have long been intertwined. They’re both 31 and have birthdays a week apart in May, and they’ve played each other 36 times at the elite level.

Djokovic leads those 2511, including a 4-0 record in finals at the Australian Open, where Murray has been a five-time finalist but never won the title.

They had a practice match together in Melbourne Park on the eve of Murray’s teary news conference Friday, where he revealed the pain from his surgically-repaired right hip was so bad that he’d decided to retire after attempting one more run at Wimbledon — if he can make it that far.

Murray was noticeably limping between points and only won two games in almost two full sets, but Djokovic Sunday denied he’d taken it any easier on his long-time friend. It’s not the way they operate.

“I wasn’t, no. To be honest, I wasn’t,” top-ranked Djokovic said. “But I did see, it was very obvious for everyone, you didn’t need to be on court to notice that he’s struggling.

“We’ve seen so many years of Andy Murray being one of the fittest guys on the tour, running around the court, getting always an extra ball back. I think to that extent, we are kind of similar.”

Djokovic has six Australian Open titles, a record he shared with two-time defending champion Roger Federer and Roy Emerson. Djokovic and Federer are on opposite sides of the draw, and can only meet in the final. Murray is in Federer’s half, but even he concedes he’s unlikely to get past No. 22-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut Monday night.

Djokovic isn’t in action until Day 2, when he opens against U.S. qualifier Mitchell Krueger. As winner of the last two majors, he’s a strong contender to win in Melbourne Park again and become the first man with three streaks of three or more consecutive Grand Slam championships.