- Andy Murray agreed to coach Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open
- The move came as a big surprise after they were rivals for more than a decade.
- Murray has also revealed his wife’s reaction to him coaching Djokovic.
Andy Murray was finishing another round of golf when he told his playing partner that he “couldn’t think of anything worse” than becoming a tennis coach; Half an hour later the call from Novak Djokovic came that made him change his mind.
The Scot spoke for the first time here in Melbourne about the genesis of the most talked-about coaching association in tennis history.
‘Novak had sent me a message, he just wanted to chat. It was just before Shanghai (late September) and we had exchanged messages, missed calls and stuff,” said the 38-year-old, fresh off the court for Djokovic’s final Australian Open practice session.
“So I was playing golf and I was on the 17th hole and the guy I was playing with said, ‘Do you know what’s next?’ I was like, ‘No, not really.’ He said, ‘Do you have any plans?’ to do some training?” And I said, “Honestly, I can’t think of anything worse to do right now.”
“Then 30 minutes later I was in the car, called Novak and he asked if I would be interested in helping him, which I obviously wasn’t expecting.” I told him: “Look, I have to think about it and talk to my family.”
Murray had been retired for less than four months, settling into full-time family life and falling into a complete addiction to golf.
Andy Murray coaches Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open, which starts on Sunday
The two were rivals throughout their playing careers before Murray retired last year.
Murray revealed that his wife Kim (right) has been “very supportive” of his decision to coach Djokovic.
But after speaking with his wife Kim and their four children, he decided the opportunity to work with his former nemesis and 24-time Grand Slam champion was an offer he couldn’t refuse.
“I talked to them and after a couple of days I thought it was a unique opportunity and experience,” Murray said.
“I thought it would be a good idea to try it together, spend some time in the off-season in Australia and see how it goes for both of us, because it’s a bit different. It’s not the usual kind of setup. So it made sense to try it and see if it works. And then we said we would make a more definitive decision after the tournament.”
The obvious question was how Kim reacted to the prospect of Murray returning to work in the sport so soon after kicking the habit.
“My wife was very supportive,” he said. ‘Actually, I was going to be in Australia anyway for a few days during the tournament. She was obviously surprised that he had asked me, but she was very supportive. Maybe if he was a younger player, where maybe it was long-term, he could be looking at five, six years potentially… I’m not sure that’s necessarily the case with Novak, but you never know if he’s right! going well!’
On Thursday, Djokovic was placed in the same part of the Australian Open draw as Carlos Alcaraz. If the 38-year-old is to win an 11th title here, coach Murray will potentially have to guide him past Alcaraz in the quarters, world No. 2 Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals and Jannik Sinner in the final.