About a year ago, Novak Djokovic announced his decision to hire Andy Murray as his new coach for the 2025 season. Everyone was surprised by that announcement, given that the former Scottish champion had left professional tennis only a few months earlier and had no experience in that role (in addition to having been one of Nole's main rivals throughout his career).
The 38-year-old Serbian needed a new motivation at that stage of his career and the start of their partnership had been quite positive, as Novak had reached the semifinals at the Australian Open by knocking out Spanish star Carlitos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.
However, the former world number 1 had to retire after a set during his match against Alexander Zverev due to an injury and from that moment the problems began. The 24-time Grand Slam champion did not shine in the following months except for the final reached at the Miami Open and his partnership with Andy ended even before Roland Garros. They remained on excellent terms and there was no friction, with Murray himself admitting that he was in trouble when he had to give Djokovic advice from a technical point of view.
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Djokovic is very demanding
During the latest episode of 'The Tennis Podcast', the three-time Grand Slam champion and former World No.1 recalled his brief collaboration with Nole: "I was working with one of the best tennis players of all time, so I was aware that it was going to be tough. He has a character that is not easy to manage and is very demanding, all things I already knew. In any case, I'm glad I had that experience. I learned many lessons, although it did not last long. We didn't get the results we hoped for, but it was still a formative period for me."
During the season just ended, the veteran from Belgrade reached the semifinals in all the Majors and lifted the trophy in Geneva and Athens (reaching 101 career titles).
