Novak Djokovic’s coaching partnership with Andy Murray has ended as abruptly as it began.
With the French Open looming, an arrangement that took the tennis world by surprise when it was announced last November shuddered to a halt following an announcement from Murray’s team.
“Thanks to Novak for the unbelievable opportunity to work together and thanks to his team for all their hard work over the past six months,” Murray said in a statement. “I wish Novak all the best for the rest of the season.”
The former world No 1s began working together on a trial basis in Marbella last December, with Murray making his first appearance in Djokovic’s box at the following month’s Australian Open. There were some teething problems in the opening round at Melbourne Park, when the Serb expressed frustration towards his team during a four-set win over Nishesh Basavareddy, an American teenager making his grand slam debut.
From there, though, Djokovic remained on track, and went on to defeat Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals, embracing Murray afterwards and hailing ‘a huge win for all of us, including Andy and myself, for the relationship’.
A hamstring injury would force the 10-time champion to retire in the next round against Alexander Zverev. But while he was unable to secure the 25th grand slam title he needed to claim outright the all-time record he currently shares with Margaret Court, the coaching relationship with Murray showed sufficient promise for the pair to resolve that they would continue through to the next major, on the red clay of Roland Garros.
What neither could have known at that point was that their best work was already behind them.
Murray did not accompany Djokovic to Doha the following month, when the Serb lost his opening match to Matteo Berrettini, but the Scot was present in Indian Wells to witness his former rival’s lacklustre defeat to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp. That setback, Djokovic’s third in succession, marked the 37-year-old’s worst run of results in seven years.
While that nadir was swiftly followed by an encouraging run to the final of the Miami Open, hinting at a resumption of normal service, the 37-year-old’s hopes of a 100th career title were scotched by a straight-sets defeat to Czech teenger Jakub Mensik.
With the clay courts of Europe beckoning, heralding the start of the long run-up to Roland Garros, things were always likely to get worse for Djokovic before they got better. Even as a three-time winner in Paris, it has traditionally taken him time to hit his stride on the red stuff. Yet even he was shocked by the desultory manner of his straight-sets loss to Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo in Monte Carlo. “I knew I’m gonna probably play pretty bad, but this bad, I didn’t expect,” Djokovic lamented.
Something had to give, and during a practice session alongside Murray before the Madrid Open, a frustrated outburst from Djokovic revealed much about his state of mind. “Fuck sport, fuck tennis, fuck everything,” he cursed in Serbian as he wiped his face with a towel. Murray may not have understood the words, but the sentiment will have been clear. Djokovic went on to lose his opening match to Matteo Arnaldi of Italy in straight sets, and announced he would not play in Rome. It would also be his last outing with Murray in his box.
While the split itself comes as no surprise, given Djokovic’s poor run of form, the timing, less than a fortnight before Paris, remains unexpected. Having come this far together, it might have made sense to see the arrangement through, particularly given that relations between the pair appear perfectly amicable.
Beyond that, Murray could surely have been a useful ally at Wimbledon, and not only because he would have brought the almost unique perspective of a former two-time champion who knows what it is to beat the Serb on Centre Court. Djokovic might have enjoyed the status of an honorary Brit with the Scot in his corner, an advantage not to be sniffed at for a man who has had his share of run-ins with the Wimbledon crowd.
That said, the player-coach dynamic is everything. Djokovic has made it plain that Roland Garros is his only objective in terms of the clay-court swing and, if the chemistry was not quite right with Murray, he will have seen little reason to persist with the relationship through the most important few weeks of the season. Either way, there are clearly no hard feelings
“Thank you, coach Andy, for all the hard work, fun & support over last six months on & off the court,” Djokovic said in a statement. “Really enjoyed deepening our friendship together.”
While Djokovic has accepted a late wildcard for next week’s Geneva Open, where he will attempt to rediscover his clay-court mojo before heading to Paris, Murray will return to the golf course, whence he was whisked after answering the Serb’s call for assistance last November.