Novak Djokovic has described Andy Murray as the ‘perfect’ coaching appointment as he has targets history in 2025.
Tennis was in shock waves a week ago when Novak Djokovic announced that Andy Murray would be his coach for the off-season and the Australian Open.
You may have thought that it was April Fools Day as Djokovic turned to one of his nearest rivals who only retired at the Olympics.
However Djokovic has reiterated that it wasn’t a joke and will now turn to the person that is only a week older than him in search for a bit of fire as he targets more history in 2025.
After Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz dominated the grand slams in 2024, Djokovic will hope to turn the tide and find his form again.
Speaking ahead of the new season Djokovic explained his decision and called Murray the ‘perfect’ appointment, “I was going through a process of thinking about next season and trying to figure out what I need at this stage of my career. Because I stopped with my coach Goran Ivanisevic, that I was very successful with for many years, in March,” Djokovic exclusively told Sky Sports.
“So I took about six months to really think about if I really need a coach, and if yes, who that’s going to be and the profile of the coach. We were going through different names and I realised the perfect coach for me at this point would be someone that has been through the experiences that I’m going through, possible multiple Grand Slam winner, former No 1.
“I was thinking about different people and then an Andy Murray discussion appeared on the table with me and my team. It was still a shock decision. It caught him a little bit off guard as well because he wasn’t expecting it, so we connected really fast and he accepted after a few days. I couldn’t be more excited about it. This collaboration is a surprise to me as well, to everyone.
“But it’s exciting for tennis. He’s been one of my greatest rivals. We’re the same age. We’ve played in all the biggest stadiums in our sport. So I can’t wait to get out on the court and prepare for next season.”
The rivalry is sure to bring up some entertaining moments as Murray aims to prepare Djokovic for the start of the season.
In Australia Djokovic will look to win an 11th Australian Open title and 25th Grand Slam trophy as history awaits him.
The Serb maintains his motivation to win trophies and cited that as one of the reasons to bring Murray into his team, “I still will try to go strong because I feel like my body is serving me well. I still have motivation to win Grand Slams, make more history,” Djokovic explained.
“That’s one of the biggest reasons why I asked Andy to work with me. Because I still have big plans. So as long as that’s the case, I’ll keep going. I don’t have any date in my mind or any result after I achieve it potentially that I’m going to say goodbye and retire.
“I’ll keep going as much as I feel like I can be one of the candidates for the biggest titles in sport.”
The Australian Open begins on the 12th of January with Jannik Sinner being the defending champion.
