Once great rivals, now a player-coach team: Novak Djokovic wants to find his way back to his old strength with the help of former star Andy Murray.
Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic is surprisingly being coached by his former rival Andy Murray in preparation for the new season and at the Australian Open. “I’m very excited and looking forward to being on the same side of the net with Novak for a change and helping him achieve his goals,” Murray (37) was quoted in a press release. The two-time Olympic champion from Great Britain ended his active tennis career after the Summer Olympics in Paris.
“I’m excited to have one of my biggest rivals on the same side of the net as a coach,” Djokovic said. He shared ‘many extraordinary moments on Australian soil’ with his former rival, whom he had beaten in four finals at the Australian Open, the 24-time Grand Slam tournament winner added.
On Instagram, Djokovic wrote with reference to Murray: “Welcome on board, legend.” And on the platform X he quipped: “He never liked retirement anyway.”
Murray will join Djokovic’s team in preparation for the new season and will also coach the Serb at the first Grand Slam tournament of the year in Melbourne from mid-January. Djokovic, who parted ways with coach Goran Ivanisevic at the beginning of the year and was previously coached by German tennis icon Boris Becker, wants to return to his old strength.
He was unable to win a Grand Slam title last season. However, the 37-year-old did win a gold medal at the Olympics in Paris.
Murray, winner of Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016 and the US Open in 2012, has battled numerous injuries during his career and recently played with an artificial hip. A cyst on his back had prevented him from making his hoped-for final appearance in the singles at the Wimbledon Championships in London this summer.