MELBOURNE, Australia -- Twenty-four-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic has urged tennis authorities to be cautious about moving put microphones near tennis coaches for live television, saying it could "endanger" players and their tactics during matches.
This year's Australian Open is the first major to feature 'coaching pods' on some courts. Where space allows, players are allowed to have a small team of four seated at court level, which allows for easier coaching and feedback during matches. The pods feature screens with access to real-time statistics and data.
But Djokovic, after his second-round win over Portugal's Jaime Faria, urged for tournament organisers to consider the information being shared before going a step further to introduce microphones into the mix.
"I'm still supportive of [coaches on the court]. I think it's a great new introduction to the tournament," the 10-time Australian Open champion said.
"It probably will change in the future with the microphone and everything. I'm happy as it is at the moment, to be honest with you."
Djokovic admitted that fans would love the access, and potential for "viral" moments, but said there was a real possibility that sensitive information could be passed onto the viewers, and therefore opposition coaches and players.
"I understand from kind of, like, fun part and stuff going viral, because there will be quite a bit of material there, I'm sure," Djokovic said.
"The only thing that I dislike there is the fact that someone from your opponent's team might be watching the match, and she or he hears that and, of course, then texts the team member. Ten seconds later you have the information. That's the part that I don't like.
"I feel like there should be some discretion and privacy in terms of the actual on-court coaching tactics. That shouldn't be out there public, I would say, because then it kind of endangers you live during the match."
The pods have drawn mixed reviews; some are concerned it'll benefit top players and not those with fewer than four in an entourage, while women's world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka not thrilled with the idea.
"Honestly, it's not like I'm a big fan of that decision. Or if you do that, then make more seats," she said earlier in the tournament.
"For example, me personally, I like to see the whole team. I want to see the whole people in my box. I don't know, sometimes I just want to look at my boyfriend for the support. I just didn't want to, like, look at the coach first, then look in the box."
Meanwhile ousted seed Stefanos Tsitsipas said he "laughed" when he first saw them.
"I don't know, it's kind of weird. I see my coaches and some other team members in that particular box, and the rest of them are upstairs, which I'm not used to. I guess I will acclimatise at some point," he said.
Djokovic won his second-round match over Faria 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-2, and will face 26th seed Czech Thomas Machac in the third round.
The pair have met twice on the tour, with Machac winning the latest meeting, last year in Geneva on clay.