Nenad Zimonjic is a prominent figure in Serbian tennis who Novak Djokovic refers to as his ‘older brother.’
Zimonjic is a former world No.1 doubles player who won eight Grand Slam doubles titles. He has claimed 54 trophies on the ATP Tour, as well as the Davis Cup for which he later became the captain of the Serbian team. Outside of the Tour, he has maintained a strong bond with Djokovic who he coached during tournaments in Monte Carlo and Rome earlier this year, prompting speculation at the time that he would take over from Goran Ivanisevic.
“I’ve been his mentor on the court and off the court, basically, since I met him when he was 12,” Zimonjic tells Ubitennis.
“Whenever he was in trouble, which was at Wimbledon 2022, he asked me to come and help the team. I managed to do that and help them to win Wimbledon together with my good friend Goran Ivanisevic.
“Earlier this year I found him in a situation where he was not really motivated and he was a little bit lost with his game, having no good results compared to 2023 and struggling after Australia this year. I managed to fix it quite quickly and unexpectedly.
“Novak didn’t have any expectations before Monte Carlo, but the two weeks that we worked together before the tournament helped him reach the semi-finals. Those new things we worked on during this period also helped him win gold at the Paris Olympics which was his biggest goal.”
The 48-year-old also served as Serbia’s captain for the 2020 ATP Cup following a request from Djokovic. This was the first and only year the country won the event which has since been discontinued.
Djokovic never named Zimonjic as his coach and instead on Saturday announced his decision to work with another former world No.1 player in the shape of Andy Murray for the Australian Open. His former rival was born just seven days before him. The announcement caught many by surprise, but how successful could this collaboration be?
“Novak is a very smart guy in making decisions and his career is proof of that,” said Zimonjic.
“So whenever he needed something really special in terms of coach and help, he reached out. The results are proof of that and I would say that he knows the best.
“They (Djokovic and Murray) know each other quite well and they’ve been playing against each other or together since they were kids.
“They have a similar style. Tactically, Andy was one of the best guys. So he can help him with a different view and different perspectives.
“This is something new for Andy. All the experience that he had with the different coaches in the past and him being a player going through similar situations on his own, it can definitely help.”
In recent months Djokovic has been playing under the guidance of Boris Bosnjakovic, who previously ran the Novak Tennis Centre. This year he achieved one of his career goals of winning an Olympic gold medal after beating Carlos Alcaraz in the final. However, outside of the Olympics, he failed to win another title but was runner-up at both Wimbledon and the Shanghai Masters.
His focus now switches to the off-season and then Australia, where he is bidding to claim his 11th title at Melbourne Park. As for Murray, he will not have a lot of time to settle into his first-ever coaching role at Tour level.
“Andy is going to be one of the team members there, they’re all together. They have a lot of experience. The whole team together with Novak and to have Andy as an addition, I think, can work out well.” Zimonjic replied when asked if Murray’s lack of coaching experience could be problematic.
There will undoubtedly be a lot of hype surrounding the Djokovic-Murray partnership given the status of both men. Between them, they have won 145 ATP titles, spent 469 weeks at the top of the PIF ATP rankings and earned more than $249M in prize money.
“Novak is somebody that has high expectations,” Zimonjic states.
“So for him winning another Grand Slam is going to be the biggest goal.
“If somebody else has expectations, that’s okay. However, I think the most important thing is what he believes.”
As for the chances of a more permanent role for Murray in Djokovic’s team, Zimonjic believes it depends on two factors.
“This is something that is going to be new for everybody. That’s probably why they agreed to work through the Australian Open and see how that goes and if it fits well,” he said.
“They could continue working together but it might depend on how much Andy wants to travel as well after playing for so many years.
Zimonjic is one of only two players to have ever played both Djokovic and Murray in a Grand Slam doubles match. He and Fabrice Santoro defeated the duo in the first round of the 2006 Australian Open.
“I wish them good luck. I was a good friend with Andy and I practiced many times with him and even had the chance to play doubles with him in a couple of tournaments. It’s exciting to see and I’m looking forward to what’s to come.” He concluded.
