Andy Murray will coach his longtime rival Novak Djokovic before and during the Australian Open in January.
Murray, who retired from tennis at the Paris Olympics in August, will help Djokovic as he bids to win an 11th Australian Open title. The Serbian has been without a full-time coach since splitting in March from Goran Ivanisevic.
“I’m really excited for it and looking forward to spending time on the same side of the net as Novak for a change, helping him to achieve his goals,” Murray said in a statement.
Djokovic said: “I am excited to have one of my greatest rivals on the same side of the net, as my coach.
“Looking forward to start of the season and competing in Australia alongside Andy with whom I have shared many exceptional moments on the Australian soil.”
Both men are 37 and were born a week apart in May 1987. They started facing each other as juniors and wound up meeting 36 times as professionals, with Djokovic holding a 25-11 advantage.
In a video posted on his social media channels, Djokovic added: “We played each other since we were boys, 25 years of pushing each other to our limits. We had some of the most epic battles in in our sport. They called us gamechangers, risk-takers, history-makers,.
“I thought our story may be over. Turns out it has one final chapter. It’s time for one of my toughest opponents to step into my corner. Welcome aboard, coach Andy Murray.”
Murray was a five-time finalist at the Australian Open, but lost four of those finals to Djokovic as well as a French Open final in 2016. Murray, though, won the US Open and his first Wimbledon by beating Djokovic in the final.
While Djokovic did not win a grand slam title in 2024 – a losing finalist at Wimbledon was the closest he came – he did win Olympic gold at Paris 2024.
Following Murray’s retirement after those Games, Rafael Nadal also ended his own career this past week after a Davis Cup exit. Along with Roger Federer, that pairing and Djokovic made up men’s tennis’ so-called Big Four, leaving the Serbian as the only remaining member still playing.
Speaking on their respective retirements he recently acknowledged that: “I still enjoy competing but part of me left with them, a big part of me.”
But Djokovic is set to continue and still harbours ambitions of further significant success – with one of his great rivals now set to be in his corner in Melbourne. The Australian Open starts on 12 January.
