Novak Djokovic caught everyone off guard after appointing his longtime rival Andy Murray as his head coach.
Andy Murray, Jelena Djokovic, Novak Djokovic (Images via X, Daily Express)
After Novak Djokovic ended a successful partnership with coach Goran Ivanisevic earlier this year, the tennis community was eagerly waiting to hear about who would join the Serb’s entourage next. Some even thought not hiring a coach was a reason behind Djokovic’s poor season, for he could grab just the Olympic gold medal in Paris, ending the reason with no trophy on the ATP Tour.
After Djokovic shocked the tennis world by announcing a new coach, something no one had foreseen, Jelena Djokovic joined the discussion and joked about it. The Serbian has hired his longtime rival Andy Murray as his coach.
Murray hung up his racket about four months ago and picked up a golf club, but now he’s back to tennis again. In the video that Novak shared on his social media to announce the news, he simply joked that Murray “never liked retirement anyway.”
As the video sent shockwaves across the tennis world, Jelena pulled fans’ legs and asked whether they thought Djokovic was announcing his retirement.
Andy Murray will be a part of Novak Djokovic’s team only till the Australian Open, where the 24-time Grand Slam champion will be aiming to lift his 11th title in Melbourne. It was only after the Australian Open that Djokovic and Murray will discuss whether they would want to extend their partnership.
Reacting to the appointment as Djokovic’s coach, Murray stated that he would be aiming to help the Serbian great have a successful campaign in Australia.
Murray and Djokovic have played against each other 36 times, with the latter winning 25 matches. Their last clash was in the fourth round of the 2022 Madrid Open, which Djokovic won. Murray played his last match on the ATP Tour at the 2024 Wimbledon alongside his brother Jamie Murray in doubles.