Novak Djokovic announced on Saturday that his retired long-time adversary Andy Murray will join the 24-time Grand Slam winner’s coaching squad, beginning with the Australian Open in January. “I’m delighted to have one of my fiercest adversaries the the same side of the net as me, this time as my coach. “I’m excited to kick off the season with Andy and have him by mine in Melbourne, where we’ve enjoyed many memorable moments throughout our jobs,” Djokovic said in his statement.
Murray, a three-time Big Slam champion who retires from competitive tennis at the Olympics in August, said: “I am extremely thrilled about this and look forward to playing on the same side of the net for a change. Djokovic shared a video on X of himself and Murray during Murray’s playing career, humorously labeled “He never liked retirement anyway.”
The 37-year-old Serb has won the Australian Open a record ten times, defeating Murray in four Melbourne finals. Djokovic failed to win a Grand Slam in 2024 and fell to seventh place in the world, although he did win the Olympic singles title in Paris, which he termed as his “greatest achievement”.
Jannik Sinner, who will finish 2017 as the runaway world number one, defeated him in the Australian Open semi-finals, while Djokovic fell in straight sets to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final. He is tied with Margaret Court for the most major singles titles of any player and would love to surpass the Australian in Melbourne.
Djokovic and Murray have squared off 36 times in their careers, with the Serb winning 25 occasions. Nineteen of the confrontations were in finals, including seven at the Slams. Two of Murray’s major championship matches were important.
He won his first Grand Slam title with a five-set triumph over his opponent in the 2012 US Open, and a year later, he memorably became the first British man to win Wimbledon in 77 years with a straight sets victory in the final at the All England Club. “We had some of the most epic battles in our sport,” Djokovic stated on Saturday.
“They referred to us as game changers, risk-takers, and history makers. I believed our story was coming to an end. It turns out that it has a concluding chapter. It’s time for one of my most formidable opponents to side with me.”
Djokovic discontinued his coaching collaboration with Goran Ivanisevic in March, even though they won 12 major titles together. Former Wimbledon champion Ivanisevic admitted Djokovic is “not an easy guy” due to his desire to achieve sporting history. “Especially when things don’t go his way.” “Sometimes it’s very complicated,” Ivanisevic stated after Djokovic claimed