Andy Murray observed Novak Djokovic hanging out with F1 star George Russell and found out it was an ideal approach to drop a hilarious joke, telling the Serb he was alleged to be practising.
When the file 24-time Grand Slam champion introduced the newly retired Briton as his new coach for the Australian Open, the tennis neighborhood went right into a frenzy. And for a great season since that is undoubtedly one of the vital attention-grabbing and thrilling participant/coach pairings within the twenty first century.
On Friday, Djokovic visited Mercedes’ F1 workforce and spent a while with their star Russell.
Andy Murray touch upon Novak Djokovic publish© Instagram
Within the remark part, Murray wrote: “He should be on the practice court.”
How Murray, Djokovic introduced the information?
In mid-November, Serbian Davis Cup workforce captain Viktor Troicki advised native reporters that one thing huge was brewing and that he heard the file 24-time Grand Slam champion was about to rent an enormous title. Nevertheless, nobody might have predicted that it will be the previous three-time Main winner who simply retired few months earlier.
“I’m going to be joining Novak’s team in the off season, helping him to prepare for the Australian Open. I’m really excited for it and looking forward to spending time on the same side of the net as Novak for a change, helping him to achieve his goals,” Murray said in a statement last weekend.
For the good portion of their careers, Djokovic and the Briton were competing against each other at the highest level and often meeting in the latter stages of Grand Slam and Masters tournaments. Only at the Australian Open – where they are set to work together – they met in four finals, with the Serb winning each one of them.
“I am excited to have one of my greatest rivals on the same side of the net as my coach. Looking forward to the start of the season and competing in Australia alongside Andy, with whom I have shared many exceptional moments on Australian soil,” the current world No. 7 said.
Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic© YouTube screenshot
Djokovic explains his decision to hire Murray
On the other side, some had some strong but also insulting words, with some even suggesting that the 37-year-old hired Murray to make the headlines and draw the interest that he lost with the rises of Sinner and Alcaraz. However, the majority had no doubt that there was a good reason why the former world No. 1 made that move.
Now, Djokovic himself confirmed the first theory – he wanted someone who was in his position and could feel and understand him.
“I was going through a process of thinking about next season in the past couple of months and figuring out what I needed as I stopped with my coach Goran Ivanisevic, who I was successful with. I took about six months to think if I really needed a coach and if yes, who is that going to be and the profile of the coach,” Djokovic told Sky Sports.
“We were going through different names and I realized at this point the perfect coach would be someone who has been through the experiences I have been through. A multiple Grand Slam winner and I was thinking about a few and the Andy Murray discussion appeared on the table with my team. I decided I would give him a call and see how it goes. It caught him off guard a little bit as he wasn’t expecting it.
“We connected really fast and he accepted it after a few days. I can’t be more excited about it. This collaboration is a surprise to me as well, to everyone, but it is exciting for tennis. He has been one of my greatest rivals, we are at the same age. We played in all the biggest stages in our sport so I can’t wait to be out there next season.”
After not profitable a Grand Slam this yr and seeing Sinner and Alcaraz fully dominate the Grand Slam scene, Djokovic will certainly be decided to make a splash on the Australian Open. And that will be an ideal approach to kick off his partnership with Murray.
