Murray was not just talking tennis’s greatest of all time, because Djokovic’s ownership of that honour has long since been put to bed. He was backing Djokovic’s claim to be the pre-eminent performer across the whole of sport; nay, the whole of sporting history.

Andy Murray was in the stands to watch Novak Djokovic beat Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open quarter-finals on Tuesday, where there was mutual respect aplenty

Novak Djokovic advanced to the Australian Open semi-finals after beating Carlos Alcaraz in four sets, with coach Andy Murray watching on from the sidelines.