As soon as Andy Murray had wrapped up his playing career, concluding with that thrilling doubles campaign at the Paris Olympics, we all expected him to put as much distance between himself and a tennis court as possible.

How wrong is it possible to be? In Melbourne on Wednesday, Murray was so close to the action during Novak Djokovic’s training session that he was literally standing in the doubles alley.

As you may have heard, Murray is now Djokovic’s coach – a bizarre yet fascinating situation that feels like Tyson Fury engaging Anthony Joshua as his corner-man.

And Murray is a very active coach, as well. As Djokovic sparred with the new British No 1 Jack Draper, he was constantly offering advice, applauding winners or writing notes.

The unceasing debate on Djokovic’s side of the court contrasted with the calmness on Draper’s, where long-term coach James Trotman is as understated as they come.

But then, this is partly down to the fact that Draper and Trotman know each other inside out after more than three years together. Whereas Murray and Djokovic are at the beginning of their shared journey. To date, their joint court time amounts to 10 days together in Marbella in December, and then another couple of days in Melbourne this week.

In coach-player relationships – as in other sorts of unions – there tends to be plenty of activity in the early stages, before things settle down into a comfortable coexistence. And the Murray-Djokovic dynamic is still very much in its honeymoon phase.

Having said that, Djokovic is known for being an unusually finicky trainer: someone who is constantly tinkering with his footwork and his swing path on the practice court.

To a layman, it might seem strange that the most successful player in tennis history spends his time chiselling away at such fine details. Doesn’t Djokovic already know how to hit a backhand? But then, as any tennis insider will tell you, this is exactly why he is the best.

Those who have been called up to spar with him during training blocks often speak rapturously about how much they learnt from the experience. They rave about the intensity and the attention to detail. As Holger Rune said a couple of years ago: “When I was training with Djokovic, I have an idea why only few can beat him on tour.”

During his own career, Murray was one of the few players who came close to matching Djokovic’s investment in training, conditioning and general self-maximisation. Which is probably why Djokovic rang Murray up in October and kicked off this whole beguiling storyline.

Back on Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday, Djokovic and Draper spent half an hour building up to a practice set, which Djokovic won 6-2. Draper then went 3-1 up in the sequel before their time ran out and they ceded the court to Coco Gauff and Victoria Azarenka.

Djokovic’s forehand looked in particularly fine fettle, delivering six of his nine winners during the session. If we are being picky, though, he was out-aced by a factor of nine to zero – a stat which could prove problematic if it were to be repeated in next week’s Australian Open.

Murray likely to be yelled at by Djokovic

There will certainly be plenty of eyes on this intriguing pairing. In the locker-room, all the chat is about how Murray will react when Djokovic starts yelling at him during a competitive match. The fact is that Djokovic does usually need to let off steam, unless he is performing faultlessly. As his former fitness coach Marco Panichi put it in August: “We knew that it was nothing personal, we knew that sometimes he needed that in order to play at his best.”

Could Djokovic’s undoubted respect for Murray calm his inner furies, just as Ivan Lendl’s presence used to soothe the savage beast within Murray himself?

It is possible that there could be a pacifying effect, especially as this is another happy function of new coaching relationships: everyone tends to be more polite before familiarity sets in.

But the likelihood is that Murray will get a taste of his own medicine next week. And all the coaches at Melbourne Park – especially the ones with personal experience of Murray’s tantrums – are looking forward to seeing how he deals with it.