Novak Djokovic surprised the tennis world when he announced former rival Andy Murray will be joining his team for the Australian Open.
The pair born just a week apart played 36 times on tour, including seven Grand Slam finals with Djokovic holding a 25-11 record against the Briton.
Murray retired after his doubles quarter-final exit at the Paris Olympics partnering Dan Evans – but now immediately returns to the game, only this time as a teacher. Murray had lots of options but ultimately decided to join Djokovic’s team.
As tennis fans react to Murray and Djokovic teaming up, they ponder on what the three-time Grand Slam Champion can bring to Djokovic after a challenging season.
The rival-turned-coach scenario is a unique one and doesn’t happen much in the world of tennis. With this, we look at three other occasions in which players turned from a former rival to a coach.
Roger Federer and Ivan Ljubičić
Roger Federer of Switzerland speaks to coach Ivan Ljubicic during a training session during Day Ten of The Championships – Wimbledon 2019 at All En…
Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images
Roger Feder announced in December 2015 that he had hired Ljubičić in an attempt to end a then three-and-a-half-year wait for his 18th Grand Slam title.
Federer held a 13-3 head-to-head record against the Croatian before the latter’s retirement in 2012, after which he coached Canadian Milos Raonic who reached his first two Masters 1000 finals, got to his first Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon in 2014 – as well as broke into the top 10.
Injuries disrupted the pair’s first season as Federer required surgery after injuring his knee following his semi-final defeat in Australia to Djokovic. Then, after back issues halted a May comeback, Federer reinjured his knee against Raonic in the Wimbledon semi-finals, ultimately ending his season.
Federer’s comeback season in 2017 proved to be extraordinary as in his first tournament back, he captured his fifth Australian Open title defeating Rafael Nadal in the final before going on to win a record eighth Wimbledon title without losing a set.
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Federer went on to defend his Australian Open title in 2018, the last of his 20 Grand Slam titles as well as reclaim the World Number One Ranking in February and Ljubičić continued as his coach until the Swiss retired from the sport at the 2022 Laver Cup.
Ljubičić was credited for helping Federer become more offensive, particularly on the backhand side which was evident in the fact that Federer won five out of the six matches against Nadal whilst working with the Croatian.
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Moya
Carlos Moya (R) Rafael Nadal coach’s talks to him during the Training Session at Roland Garros on May 20, 2024 in Paris, France.
Photo by Antonio Borga/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
Rafael Nadal also began working with another of Raonic’s former coaches after a couple of difficult seasons for the then-14-time Grand Slam champion.
Carlos Moya and Nadal played eight times on tour with Nadal coming out the victor on six occasions.
The pair, both from Mallorca, first practised together when Nadal was 11 and Moya was an established player at the top of the game.
Moya had helped to guide Raonic through to the 2016 Wimbledon Final where he lost to Murray and reach his career high ranking of No.3.
The Spaniard had struggled with confidence and injuries throughout 2015 and 2016 at which time Nadal asked Moya to join his uncle, Toni Nadal, as his coach.
Like for Federer, 2017 was a return to form for Nadal as after his Australian Open final defeat, he captured his 10th French Open title and his fourth US Open crown. Alongside this – he finished the year as World Number One for the fourth time in his career.
Moya remained with Nadal throughout the rest of the latter’s career in a partnership which included eight Grand Slam titles. That was until Nadal retired at the Davis Cup earlier this month.
Alexander Zverev and David Ferrer
PARIS, FRANCE September 24. Coach David Ferrer talks with Alexander Zverev of Germany during practice on Court Philippe-Chatrier in preparation for…
Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images
Whilst hiring a former rival led to notable career successes for two legends, sometimes the coaching relationship between former rivals is only a short-term situation.
Alexander Zverev ended the career of David Ferrer in the 2019 Madrid Masters which was the last of the pair’s eight meetings.
After a difficult 2019 season, Zverev hired Ferrer in 2020 to work alongside his father just as the tour began to resume following the COVID-19 lockdown.
With Ferrer on his team, Zverev reached his first major final at the US Open in September but lost to Austria’s Dominic Thiem despite taking a two-set and a-break lead and served for the title in the fifth set.
Mixed results followed for Zverev for the rest of the year, he lost in the fourth round of the postponed French Open to a rising Jannik Sinner, and he won two titles in Cologne before reaching the finals of the Paris Masters where Daniil Medvedev beat him.
But Covid restrictions made travelling difficult for Ferrer and in January 2021, so he decided not to extend his coaching agreement with Zverev.
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