Novak Djokovic units into the 2025 tennis season with a one-of-a-kind member in his teaching workers, along with his long-time rival and pal Andy Murray having joined his workforce over the low season. Murray, who introduced his retirement following Wimbledon in 2024, took a while off the tennis tour, however is as soon as once more in Melbourne as he and Djokovic put together for the Australian Open 2025.
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic (R) hits a return as coach Andy Murray seems on throughout a coaching session forward of the Australian Open tennis match.(AFP)
Talking to the Specific, Murray revealed how the method of him becoming a member of Djokovic’s workforce went about. Murray can be becoming a member of forces with the Serb’s most important coach, Goran Ivanisevic, as Djokovic seems to increase his enjoying profession and compete with far youthful opponents.
“So I was actually playing golf, and we’d actually been exchanging messages,” defined Murray. “Novak had messaged me, just wanting to chat. It was just before Shanghai (Masters 1000 event), and we’d exchanged messages and missed calls and stuff.”
“Then ultimately, I used to be on the seventeenth gap of the golf course, and the man I used to be enjoying with stated to me, ‘Are you aware what’s subsequent?’. I used to be like, ‘No, not likely’,” continued the Scotsman. “He said, ‘Do you have any plans to do any coaching?’ And I said, ‘Honestly, I can’t think of anything worse to do right now’.”
Despite this stance, Murray received an offer he could not refuse soon after, receiving the chance to work with a player he has known since they were young teenagers coming through the age ranks in competitive tennis.
“After which half-hour later, I used to be within the automotive and I referred to as Novak, after which we had a dialog, and he requested if I might be interested by serving to, which I clearly wasn’t anticipating,” defined Murray, whose retirement from tennis got here after an extended battle towards continual hip and ankle points.
Murray is anticipated to play a tactical position in Djokovic’s workforce fairly than a details-oriented and technical member of the workers, utilizing his huge information of the ATP tour and what it takes to succeed towards the gamers on the highest stage.
Murray is taken into account one of many gamers with the best tennis IQs within the historical past of the game, permitting him to stay aggressive with the ‘big three’ of tennis for years and years regardless of not possessing the identical large weapons or pure presents that the likes of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer had entry to.
The Murray-Djokovic partnership received off to a shaky begin as Djokovic crashed out towards big-serving American Reilly Opelka on the Brisbane Worldwide match, however the maiden grand slam marketing campaign for the pair will start with a match towards American teenaged wildcard Nishesh Basavareddy on the Australian Open subsequent week.