LEFT FIELD ‘I caught him a little off guard’ – Inside Novak Djokovic’s coaching talks with Andy Murray as offer leaves Scot stunned
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NOVAK DJOKOVIC admits he caught Andy Murray “a little off guard” when he asked him to be his new coach.
Retired Scots legend Murray, 37, will hook up with his old Serbian rival for the 2025 Australian Open.
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Novaj Dkokovic has opened up on the discussions between the pair
Novaj Dkokovic has opened up on the discussions between the pairCredit: Alamy
Andy Murray finishes as year end World No 1 in 2016 after an epic win over Djokovic
Andy Murray finishes as year end World No 1 in 2016 after an epic win over DjokovicCredit: Reuters
The deal, thrashed out after a brain-storming meeting, is only for the Melbourne Slam but could continue beyond that if successful.
Djokovic, 37, revealed how he and his team had tossed around names of leading candidates.
He said: “I was going through a process in the last few months of thinking about next season.
“I stopped with my coach Goran Ivanisevic, who I was very successful with and worked with for many years, in March.
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“I took about six months to really think about if I need a coach and, if yes, who that would be and the profile of the coach.
“We went through different names and I realised the perfect coach for me at this point would be someone that has been through the experiences I’m going through.
“Possibly a multiple Grand Slam winner, a former world No 1. I was thinking about different people and then a discussion about Andy appeared on the table with me and my team.
“We were like, ‘OK, I’ll give him a call and see how it goes’.
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“It caught him a little off guard because he wasn’t expecting it.
“We connected really fast and he accepted it after a few days. I can’t be more excited about it.”
Andy Murray makes career change as Brit legend admits ‘I don’t think a tennis player has done anything like this before’
Djokovic beat Murray in four Aussie Open finals as well as the French Open final in 2016.
Murray won two of his three majors against Djokovic – at the 2012 US Open and Wimbledon in 2013.
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But this is a difficult time in the Serb’s career, 2024 being his first calendar year without a Grand Slam win since 2017.
The former world No 1, aiming to win a 25th major next year, said: “This collaboration is a surprise to me as well, to everyone, but it’s exciting for tennis.
“Andy’s been one of my greatest rivals. We are the same age, have played in all the biggest stadiums.
“I can’t wait to get on the court and prepare for next season.”
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Topics
australian openWimbledonAndy MurrayNovak DjokovicAustraliaMelbourneScotland
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