(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Dong-chan = Novak Djokovic (7th place, Serbia) announced on the 24th (Korean time) that he had appointed Andy Murray (Great Britain), his rival during his active career, as his new coach. Djokovic said on his social media that day, “I appointed Murray, who was one of my strongest rivals, as my coach,” and added, “Now, we will be together on one side of the net.”
The period was decided to be together until the Australian Open in January 2025, and Djokovic recalled, “I had many special times with Murray, especially in Australia.”
Djokovic and Murray have competed as one of the ‘Big Four’ in men’s tennis since the mid-2000s, along with Roger Federer (Switzerland) and Rafael Nadal (Spain).
Both were born in 1987 and are the same age. Murray retired after the Paris Olympics this year, and Djokovic is the only one of the ‘Big Four’ who will continue his career as a player in the 2025 season.
Murray also expressed his enthusiasm through his social media, saying, “I will help Djokovic achieve his goals.”
It is known that Djokovic and Murray first faced each other when they were 11 years old, and Murray won at the time. On the adult stage, Djokovic was ahead of his opponents with 25 wins and 11 losses.
In particular, Murray reached the Australian Open finals five times and finished second in all of them, but lost to Djokovic in four of them, so he was never able to relieve his sorrow of winning the Australian Open.
However, he is in charge of leading Djokovic to victory at the 2025 Australian Open.
Murray defeated Djokovic in the finals of the 2012 U.S. Open and 2013 Wimbledon, two of his three major singles titles.
If Djokovic had won even once at this time, he would have already achieved the record of 25 singles wins in a major tournament.
Currently, Djokovic is tied for first place with Margaret Court (retired, Australia) in the category of most wins with 24 major singles wins.
Djokovic broke up with coach Goran Ivanisevic, who he had been with for the past six years, in March of this year.
Since then, they have not yet appointed an official coach and have not reached the top of a major tournament this year. However, he achieved a career Golden Slam feat by winning a gold medal in the singles event at the Paris Olympics.
Djokovic said, “I competed fiercely with Murray, and it seemed like the story with him was over, but the final chapter remained,” adding, “I got to have one of my toughest opponents in our corner.”
The 2025 Australian Open, Djokovic and Murray’s biggest goal, will open in Melbourne, Australia on January 12 next year.
Djokovic has shown a particularly strong performance, winning 10 times at the Australian Open alone. At this year’s Australian Open, he was eliminated in the semifinals.
