Top Tennis Players Join Forces With Former Champions Novak Djokovic, left, hired Boris Becker after losing three Grand Slam finals last year. Julian Smith/European Pressphoto Agency Tennis royalty has coached tennis royalty before. Bill Tilden, the American who was the game's biggest star in the 1920s, coached Gottfried von Cramm and the German Davis Cup team. Billie Jean King coached Martina Navratilova. Mats Wilander coached Marat Safin. Jimmy Connors coached Andy Roddick and then, for an embarrassingly brief stretch last year, Maria Sharapova. Ivan Lendl is still coaching Andy Murray after helping him make the leap from Grand Slam pretender to U.S. Open champion and, above all, Wimbledon champion. But there has never been a rush into the coaching ranks quite like the one that has just occurred. Men's professional tennis has a brief off-season - a mere six weeks - but that was more than enough time for today's stars to hire plenty of yesterday's stars. The marquee moves were the entourage-inclined Novak Djokovic's hiring of the former No.1 Boris Becker as head coach and Roger Federer's decision to bring in the former No.1 Stefan Edberg, his boyhood idol, as assistant coach and inspiration-in-chief. Ivan Lendl, right, started coaching Andy Murray in 2012 to great effect. Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press But there was also the ninth-ranked Richard Gasquet joining forces with the former French Open champion Sergi Bruguera, and the Japanese star Kei Nishikori hiring the former French Open champion Michael Chang. With the year's first Grand Slam tournament, the Australian Open, set to begin on Monday in Melbourne, there is a fresh sense of possibility and curiosity enveloping the men's game, which has been remarkably stable at the top in recent years, with the same four men hoarding the major titles. How might this infusion of big-name talent reshuffle the golden-age deck? "I think some are a great fit, but I'm not sure about the others," Chang said of the new coaches in an email from Australia. The one thing these past champions have that a lot of coaches don't, though, is the experience that comes from playing on the biggest stages in tennis. We've been there. We know what it takes, and we know from experience what has worked and what has not. "At this point, everyone is looking for an edge," he added, "and that edge can sometimes mean the difference between winning a Grand Slam or coming up just short, as Andy Murray has shown very clearly the past couple of years. If hiring a former champion will help a player get to the next level or two, why not take advantage of it? The top-10 players David Ferrer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also recently hired new coaches. So have many of the top women, including Sharapova, Caroline Wozniacki, Angelique Kerber, Samantha Stosur and Sloane Stephens. "I think that's actually the story of the year, the coaches," said Chris Evert, the former women's No.1, now a television analyst. But the focus remains on coaches who have won the biggest titles themselves, often at each other's expense. Becker and Edberg faced off in three straight Wimbledon finals, from 1988 to 1990, with Edberg winning twice. Chang upset Edberg to win the 1989 French Open at age 17 - having stunned Lendl, the world's top-ranked player, in the fourth round with a sheer triumph of will and an underhanded serve - and lost to Becker in the 1996 Australian Open final. With the former Wimbledon winner Goran Ivanisevic coaching his fellow Croatian Marin Cilic and Tony Roche still coaching Lleyton Hewitt, seven Grand Slam singles champions are now working with players in the top 50. Roche, the 68-year-old Australian who won the 1966 French Open and was one of the greatest doubles players of his era, was once the only Grand Slam singles champion at work as a top men's coach. He has indirectly played a major role in the current trend through his influence on Lendl, whom he coached for many years. "I still think he is one of the best coaches in the game," Lendl, 53, said in an interview from Melbourne. Seeing how he worked with me and helped prepare me for matches was a great learning experience and one which I value today with Andy and the kids at my academy. Lendl said none of the new wave of coaches, including his former rivals Becker and Edberg, contacted him for counsel before deciding to rejoin the tour. But he said he was not surprised by the influx and, though many are giving him credit for inspiring it, he resists taking ownership. "I don't really look at it that way," he said. I will potentially have to do a little extra scouting though. For years, the consensus has been that the best coaches are savvy, still-hungry former players who never achieved or quite achieved greatness. That would include men like Larry Stefanki, who had a losing record as a professional; Paul Annacone, who peaked at No.12 in the singles rankings; Darren Cahill, who peaked at No.22; and Brad Gilbert, who rose as high as No.4 but never made it past the quarterfinals in a Grand Slam tournament in singles. "Some of the best coaches, in my opinion, are the ones who had less and made the most of it," said Jim Courier, the American Davis Cup captain and former No.1 player. That's why I think Brad Gilbert has been so effective as a coach, because he was a guy who had a limited skill set on the court but maximized every bit of it, and I think he's been able to help his players see that benefit. "José Higueras worked for me in much the same way," he added, referring to the former Spanish player who coached him and many others, including Chang during his memorable French Open run and Federer. He wasn't a guy who had a lot of overt weapons as a player, but boy, he could understand the dimensions of the tennis court and translate it. It's as much about your bedside manner as a coach. That will be an interesting piece of the conversation now. How does someone used to being the show go to being part of the show? Lendl, for one, has done it quite successfully. "All of these relationships are so personality-driven that each case is different," Lendl said. But I think everyone has to be in it for the right reason or it won't work. In my case, I like Andy a lot. We shared certain things, like a sense of humor, and I wanted to help him try to achieve his goals, which has been fun. Gilbert, 52, said he believed it was critical for coaches to remember that it was "not about what you did." "It's about the player, not you," he said. That's the most important thing. But Gilbert, now working as a television analyst, said that while sublimating the ego could be a challenge for former star players who chose to coach, it was hardly an insurmountable obstacle. "I think it's great for the game, great for the players and great for the coaching profession to see some of these players going and doing this," he said. Because it's always been the myth that just because you're a really good player that you can't be a good coach. I just think it's ridiculous. It always depends on the person and how you go about the job. For now, the great women's champions of the past are not following the men's lead. True, Martina Hingis has coached some young pro players, including Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, through the Mouratoglou Academy in Paris. And Amélie Mauresmo helped coach her fellow Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli when she won Wimbledon last year. But there is nothing comparable to what is happening in the men's game, even if Evert points out that she has helped counsel a number of promising American players, including Madison Keys and Lauren Davis, at her academy in Florida. "I think it's easier for a male to coach on the tour than it is for a female, and I think having kids has a lot to do with it," Evert said. I know Tracy Austin would never have wanted to be away, or Steffi Graf or me in the past. That is why that just has never happened with us. In the men's game, retired superstars have generally been content with being Davis Cup captains, television commentators or intermittent senior-tour players. But several new forces appear to be at work today. There is the Lendl effect, as well as the desire to play a direct role in this remarkable, history-making era in the men's game. Chang, an Asian-American, said he wanted to help Asian tennis. "I felt like this was a unique circumstance as there are very few Asian men who have done well on Tour," said Chang, 41. Kei is at a similar place as I was when I was around 15 in the world for a couple of years. And I believe I have some experience that can help him improve and go to the next level. Chang said money was not a determining factor. "I have been blessed many times over and actually make more playing my own events on the Champions Tour," he said of one of the game's senior tours. Top coaches can make anywhere from $5,000 to $13,000 a week. Connors reportedly made a great deal more than that when he was coaching Roddick, from 2006 to 2008. Leading players generally pay set wages and bonuses to coaches rather than a percentage of earnings. "These are the first group of guys coaching who are independently wealthy and who don't need the work," said Courier, 43. They are choosing it because they want to, not because they need to, and that's an interesting distinction. But the buying power of this wealthy generation of current stars is certainly considerable. "Maybe the fellows are opening their pocket books a lot more," Gilbert said. There are also potential brand-building benefits to coaching a leading light in this era, as Lendl has made clear. Courier, like his former rivals and compatriots Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, is not interested for now in joining the coaching ranks. He said that he wanted to limit his time on the road and that he got his "coaching fix" from being Davis Cup captain. But Courier said he understood the lure and did not rule out coaching someone on tour in the future. He said John McEnroe, 54, another former No.1, was already interested. "Johnny Mac has been sniffing around looking for potential athletes to coach as well, and I think he'd like to get in on this arms race," Courier said. I wouldn't be surprised if you see him with a player at some point. What Lendl also has made tantalizingly clear to former greats is that a coach can play a decisive role on a part-time basis. Lendl has not traveled every week of the season with Murray, and none of his illustrious imitators are taking on a full travel load either. "Ivan, I think, has shown you can have full-time impact from a part-time travel schedule," Courier said. Becker, 46, is sharing road duties with Djokovic's longtime coach, Marian Vajda. Bruguera, 42, is doing the same with Gasquet's other coach, Sébastien Grosjean. Chang said he would not travel full time with Nishikori but planned to bring his family when he did. Edberg, 47, has committed to approximately 10 weeks this season with Federer, beginning with the Australian Open. "Much less than what other coaches have done in the past who have joined me," Federer said in Brisbane, Australia. I don't see him as much in a coaching role, more as an inspiration, a legend joining my team. Just spending time and talking and discussing, really, with Severin Lüthi, my coach. The pleasant, measured Edberg with his attacking bent seems a fine temperamental and stylistic fit for Federer. After all, Federer has already won the tour's Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award on nine occasions, though Federer, at 32, looks to be in need of more grit than congeniality at this challenging phase of his career. "Of all the jobs, Edberg is going in with the toughest one," Gilbert said. He's coaching a guy that's going to be 33 this year, chasing some guys who are younger and playing phenomenal. And the thing is, you are held to the standard of a .375 hitter. It's not like, "O.K., you can hit .330 and feel great."" Nishikori and Chang - both speedy, flashy and comparatively undersized - also appear to be cut from the same cloth. Then there are Djokovic and Becker, an unlikely pairing at first glance that already has some pundits predicting a short relationship and others sensing good timing and chemistry. "I just think Boris walks into, or jumps into, the best situation," Gilbert said. Just because Djokovic is 26 and he was playing brilliant tennis at the end of the year. You don't think anything technically is going to change, maybe some strategy a little bit. There are commonalities. Both have won six Grand Slam singles titles and all the major titles except the French Open, and both have big personalities and a tendency to get openly negative when their shots fail to meet their standards. But Djokovic is one of the supreme returners and defenders in history, with a taste for extended rallies and no true failings to exploit unless you count his flickering overhead. Becker was a determined, intimidating big-match player with a pronounced taste for risk, from full-force ground strokes to diving volleys to huge second serves. "Djokovic is so consistent and so smooth, has that great timing," Evert said. But he could probably go out of the box a little bit more and take a few more chances, come to net, hit some more winners. I think Becker's aggressive personality and aggressive game could give him the edge that he needs. Becker was widely considered a sage in his playing days but his TV commentary in retirement has rarely glowed with deep insight. He has not coached formally except for work with a team of promising young German players in the 1990s. Now, he is starting very near the top, with Djokovic ranked No.2 behind Rafael Nadal, who, by the way, is sticking by his career-long coach, his uncle Toni. Becker is also starting with a player who has not lost a match since September but who apparently still felt something was missing after losses to Nadal at the 2013 French Open and U.S. Open and, in between, to Murray at Wimbledon. "The fact that Nadal has taken over and Murray has moved up a gear, he felt he had been left behind a little bit," Becker told the BBC. He felt he needed someone in his corner who had been there and done it, what he's trying to do. He was hardly alone, and as this intriguing season gets underway, the champions on the blue courts in Melbourne will have plenty of support from the champions in the players" boxes. An earlier version of a picture caption with this article, using information from Agence France-Presse, misidentified the coach shown with Roger Federer. It was Severin Luethi, not Stefan Edberg.