“He wasn’t expecting it, so we connected really fast and he accepted after a few days”
Novak Djokovic – Andy MurrayImago / Panoramic
Author avatar
Ayush Vashistha
November 30, 2024
Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray caught the tennis world by surprise when they announced their new player-coach collaboration. Interestingly, it has emerged that both Djokovic and Murray were in disbelief despite being the decision-makers themselves.
For starters, the probability of Djokovic playing under Murray was as low as Luis Figo swapping the Barcelona jersey with a Real Madrid at the turn of the century. But it happened.
The Serbian took to social media on November 23, 2024, and confirmed the Scot’s appointment.
It was a shock decision, it caught him off guard as well because he wasn’t expecting it, so we connected really fast and he accepted after a few days.”
Novak Djokovic to Sky Sports
He never liked retirement anyway. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Ga4UlV2kQW
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) November 23, 2024
The move notably came months after Murray hung up his racquet and the 24-time Grand Slam champion parted ways with Goran Ivanisevic.
“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,” Djokovic said. “Because I stopped with my coach Goran Ivanisevic, that I was very successful with for many years, in March. 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.”
“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. I said I would give him a call and see how it goes.”
“It’s exciting for tennis”
Djokovic and Murray’s association was a shocker as the duo were part of a scintillating rivalry that spanned 36 battles on the ATP Tour. More importantly, the duo fought in 19 finals — all being played at the Grand Slams, Masters 1000 tournaments, or ATP Finals.
Thus, the Serbian believes his link-up with the former rival will bring the flush of excitement to the racquet sports spectacle.
“I couldn’t be more excited about it,” he added. “This collaboration is a surprise to me as well, to everyone. But . 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.”
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