Imagine if Messi coached Ronaldo: Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray team up at the Australian Open
Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have known each other for a quarter of a century. They played from the age of 12, meeting 36 times as professionals, including 10 Grand Slam matches. Yet they’ve never been able to talk shop and freely trade all sorts of thoughts — about tennis and otherwise — until now.
That’s because Djokovic got the bright idea to hire the recently retired Murray as his coach, at least through the Australian Open that begins Sunday (Saturday EST).
That’s because Djokovic got the bright idea to hire the recently retired Murray as his coach, at least through the Australian Open that begins Sunday (Saturday EST).
“I must say, at the beginning, it was a bit of a strange feeling to be able to share the insights with him, not just about the game but about how I feel, about life in general. Not in a negative way, but just in a way I have never done that with him, because he was always one of my greatest rivals,” Djokovic said Friday. “We were always kind of hiding things from each other. Now all cards are open on the table.”
It’s an unusual pairing that caught their sport by surprise in November, after Djokovic called up Murray to check on the possibility of teaming up. Two rivals now on the same side. Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion, drew on football to try to explain how out-of-this-world this relationship is.
“Imagine,” Medvedev said, “(if Lionel) Messi would become the coach of Cristiano Ronaldo. It would be strange.”
Indeed. It sure is odd to see Murray standing just steps away from Djokovic behind a baseline during practice sessions.
These are, after all, two of the greats of tennis. Djokovic owns a men’s-record 24 Grand Slam titles, including 10 at the Australian Open, and has spent more weeks ranked No. 1 than anyone in history. Murray also has been No. 1, owns three major singles trophies, was a Slam runner-up eight times — five of those losses in finals coming against Djokovic, including four at Melbourne Park — and is the only player with two Olympic singles gold medals in tennis.
