Can Murray help Djokovic win the Australian Open?

The Australian Open in Melbourne, beginning 12 January, is a significant marker for Djokovic, who is chasing a record 25th Grand Slam singles title, his 100th career title and a 11th Australian Open at a time when younger rivals attempt to edge him out of relevance.

It’s especially significant because in 2024, Djokovic did not win a single Grand Slam title, for the first time since 2017. He had just one title last year—a gold medal at the Olympics—his lowest number in 19 years as a pro. His ranking has slipped to seventh, the lowest since 2017, a year when he didn’t really play much tennis.

What Djokovic, one of the greatest male tennis players ever, needed was a dramatic reset, and getting a recently retired, arch rival as coach, may just be the key to pull him out of the rut. If Murray knows how to beat Djokovic, he would be able to estimate what it takes for Djokovic to stay unbeaten.

“Twenty-five years of being rivals… we had some of the most epic battles in our sports," Djokovic said in a video statement about Murray on X in November. “… I thought our story may be over, turns out it has one final chapter."

Back on the court

Djokovic said he took six months to figure what he needed at this stage of his career before making that unexpected call to Murray, who had made no indications of getting back to work so soon after hanging up his racket. “I realised the perfect coach would be someone who has been through the experiences I’m going through," said Djokovic, “possibly a multiple Grand Slam winner and world No.1… This collaboration is a surprise to everyone, including me, but it’s exciting for tennis."

“Being on the same side of the net is actually great for a change because he’s (Murray) been one of my greatest rivals," Djokovic told the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) website last month.

Murray and Djokovic are both the same age—born one week apart in May 1987 with the former being older—but Murray’s career peaked and plummeted far more rapidly than the Serbian’s. With a particularly bruising style of play, Murray’s body failed to sustain the sport’s demands, with his hip buckling in first, leading to a progressive decline in his abilities.

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Djokovic’s elastic, vegan-fuelled body has endured further than his rival-turned-partner Murray, better than his other great opponent Rafael Nadal, who retired last year at age 38, and almost as well as Roger Federer, who was over 40 when he stopped playing in 2022.

Djokovic has in the past tried briefer stints with Boris Becker and Andre Agassi as coaches, besides Goran Ivanisevic in a six-year association that ended last March and brought 12 Grand Slam titles. Getting Murray in his team possibly allows Djokovic to have one other member of the Big Four—as Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray were referred to at the peak of their overlapping careers—around, for familiarity and inspiration.

“Never even liked tennis anyway," Murray had posted on X in jest, the day he retired last year.

“He never liked retirement anyway," was Djokovic’s aptly timed retort a few months later, when he announced Murray’s appointment.

An extra edge

Murray, a three-time Grand Slam champion, five-time Australian Open finalist , former world No.1 and Olympic gold medallist, brings with him the freshness of someone in a first-time job, combined with the experience of having played all of Djokovic’s contemporary opponents. All his four losses in the Australian Open final came against Djokovic in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016.

“That’s obviously the most intriguing coaching-player situation we’ve seen in a very, very long time. The positive is if Novak ends up winning the Australian Open and breaking the record and getting to 25, wouldn’t it be fun to do it with Andy Murray, who can finally say he won the Australian Open, this time with Novak instead of having to play against him. If it happens, it’s going to be one of the great stories," said former multiple Grand Slam doubles champion and ESPN commentator Rennae Stubbs.

As a player, Murray always appeared self-aware, with an analytical brain, a thoughtful demeanour—besides possessing a dry sense of wit—which showed the makings of a shrewd coach. “Andy’s very sharp with the data side of things and strategy," Murray’s coach Jamie Delgado told BBC Sport recently.

Having played together since they were juniors, Murray would also be brutally honest with Djokovic, which may not have been the case with other coaches. Murray is not likely to be intimidated by or be in awe of Djokovic, which could happen with anyone else taking on the role given Djokovic’s stature in the sport. Murray’s role is also specific and limited to the Australian Open, which gives both of them a focused objective.

Djokovic seeks now—in the absence of the motivation his old rivals provided, and in the presence of the urgency the new gen brings—just that one title that will put him clear ahead of all tennis players, male and female. He shares the number, 24 Grand Slam singles titles, with Margaret Court, having long gone ahead of male contenders Nadal (22) and Federer (20).

“It’s pretty hard to count him (Djokovic) out no matter what the situation is," said ESPN commentator John McEnroe during a media briefing on 6 January. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he won one or a couple more (Grand Slams), and I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t."

Djokovic’s immediate need is to figure out how to get ahead of most notably two younger rivals, the world No.1 Jannik Sinner and No.3 Carlos Alcaraz. The two players shared the Majors last year, with Sinner winning in Melbourne and the US while Alcaraz got the French Open and Wimbledon. Last year, the Italian Sinner beat Djokovic in the Australian Open semi-final, before eventually winning his maiden Grand Slam title. Djokovic had never before lost in the Australian Open semi-final (or final for that matter), a sign of vulnerability and an early indication for how the rest of the year was to turn out for him.

Djokovic has a 4-3 win-loss record against Alcaraz and 4-4 against Sinner, but the Italian has beaten Djokovic on the last three occasions.

Murray, who has gone through his own roller coaster of triumphs and heartbreaks—both on the tennis court and off-court with injuries—could empathise with and motivate Djokovic. Murray has a 1-1 (win-loss) head-to-head record against Sinner and is 1-1 against Alcaraz, which gives him an understanding of their abilities and a unique perspective as player-turned-part-time coach.

Djokovic played the Brisbane International in December-January for the first time in 16 years, having not needed that kind of preparation for the Australian Open before. It was not an ideal start to his 2025 campaign though—he lost for the first time ever to Reilly Opelka, a 27-year-old American ranked nearly 300 in the world.

In Brisbane, Djokovic mentioned how he and his new coach would do a lot of video analysis of his main opponents, to understand how his game matches up to players 14-16 years younger. Murray, in that sense, will provide the hugely motivated, mentally strong Djokovic a little extra edge that he needs for one last swing at glory.

“This thing with Murray and Djokovic, especially if Djokovic wins Australia, then it would be like, wow, this is incredible. I’m sure he’d (Murray) be flooded with coaching requests, or maybe they’d stick with him for the rest of the year. To me, if it doesn’t work out, let’s say Djokovic loses in the quarters or semis and then they decide not to continue, would Murray want to coach someone else. So that would be the questions I would have," said McEnroe. “Murray coaching Djokovic… It’s remarkable to say the least. Fun to talk about."

In 2016, Murray beat Djokovic in the ATP Finals to end the year as the No.1 ranked player. He said later—and The Guardian reported—“When me and Novak speak with each other, we don’t talk about tennis, rankings, the matches we play against each other. Maybe when we finish playing, that might change."

He didn’t know then just how right he was going to be eight years later.

Arun Janardhan is a Mumbai-based journalist who covers sports, business leaders and lifestyle. He posts @iArunJ.

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