At first, the news alert sounded like a Fool’s Day joke: “Andy Murray coach Novak Djokovic to the Australian Open”, we read. Murray’s first move after retirement will be a step towards the unknown. Having taken the time he wanted at home after finishing his playing career at the Olympics, he found the lure of the game too strong to resist. A former rival may seem like an unlikely ally: Djokovic beat Murray in four Australian Open finalshe has now appointed a rookie coach to help him achieve an 11th place finish.
But this new partnership has deep roots. Murray and Djokovic were born a week apart in May 1987 and they first met when they were 11 at a junior tournament in France. A friendship blossomed and when they both went to the Australian Open for the first time, in 2006, they played doubles together. A return to Melbourne as player-coach will come 19 years after this first round elimination. “I thought maybe our story was over. It turns out there is a final chapter,” Djokovic said in a video posted to his social media, as he welcomed “one of my toughest opponents” to his corner.
Murray will also know that he is about to embark on one of his toughest challenges. Djokovic has been without a coach since his highly successful partnership with the former Wimbledon champion ended. Goran Ivanisevicwho led to 12 Grand Slam titles during a remarkably dominant period of his career since turning 30. There were titles, yes, but a lot of “drama” too. Djokovic regularly got angry while berating Ivanisevic and his entourage in his playing box. So much so that the Croatian heaved a sigh of relief when the tournaments were finally over. “He’s not an easy guy, let’s put it that way,” he said after Djokovic won the French Open in 2023. “Especially when something doesn’t go his way. He keeps you going stressed, the stress level is always high. It never goes down.
Murray also used his coaches and support staff to express his anger during his playing days, as well as muttering and mumbling behind the field. Now in Djokovic’s corner, he will finally understand what it was like to be the victim of such frustration.
But ultimately, Ivanisevic understood after working with Djokovic that the 24-time Grand Slam champion was unique. “Every day we learn something,” he also said. For Murray, the opportunity to see behind the curtain Djokovic’s extraordinary success and longevity is too good to turn down, even if it means he begins his coaching journey by going straight into the deep end.
It’s not a complete surprise that Murray would become a coach, far from it. Young British players often talk about the time Murray would devote to them at the National Tennis Centre, and Murray had also become something of a mentor to British number one Jack Draper. That may still be the case, but it seemed more logical that Murray would have more to offer as a coach than someone like Draper, 22, who is trying to take the next step in his career and compete for Grand Slam titles after reaching the semi-finals of the US Open last season. Given Murray’s record of losing his first four Grand Slam finals before winning the US Open in 2012, it might even have made sense for him to offer advice to a fellow grafter, who is not endowed with striking skills, like world number 4 Taylor Fritz. .
Instead, Murray’s first coaching experience will be with the most successful men’s player of all time, in what could be his last real chance to win an 11th Australian Open and 25th Grand title Slam in Melbourne. It’s tempting to believe that Djokovic has nothing to learn at this stage of his career. However, he has two young rivals Jannik sinner And Carlos Alcarazwho are now favorites to beat him in every match they play. Djokovic’s stunning victory over Alcaraz in the Olympic final was his best performance of 2024. But it was also an anomaly, as well as his only title. Sinner won his Australian Open semi-final. Alcaraz beat him in straight sets in the Wimbledon final.
Alcaraz’s best-of-five level already seems too high for Djokovic – which makes the Olympic final all the more astonishing. Sinner is too consistent and seems to have inherited some of Djokovic’s traits that have been essential to his dominance. Perhaps Murray has the answers to the Alcaraz and Sinner conundrum that Djokovic now faces – a problem that could get worse given he will be seeded outside the top four at the Australian Open, and could therefore draw against Alcaraz or Sinner in the quarter-finals. Perhaps Murray’s impact lies in his ability to analyze and read the game from afar.
Djokovic clearly thinks the presence of his old rival is what he needs. This is not a publicity stunt, as Djokovic is well aware of his own immortality and feels that time is now running out. Rafael Nadal joined Murray and Roger Federer retired. “We’ve been playing against each other since we were boys, 25 years of pushing each other to our limits,” Djokovic said. He needs another level to reach. Can Murray help him there? The Australian Open has found another box office storyline and the dynamics will be fascinating. But Murray, despite five appearances as a finalist, has never won the Australian Open. Now he has one last chance.
