Novak Djokovic’s partnership with Andy Murray sends ‘strong message’ to rivals before Australian Open says Mats Wilander

Former Grand Slam champion and commentator Mats Wilander has said Novak Djokovic’s surprise decision to bring Andy Murray into his box for the Australian Open is an “excellent move”. The former rivals will team up at the year’s first major to attempt to add a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title to Djokovic’s extensive trophy collection, sending a “strong message” to the Serb’s younger rivals.

Wilander on what Murray will bring to Djokovic’s game and how it could test their relationship

Mats Wilander described Novak Djokovic’s surprise coaching partnership with Andy Murray as an “excellent move” and an indication that the 24-time major winner “thinks his best tennis is still ahead of him”, with more Grand Slam victories likely to be the goal.

Djokovic and Murray, who met in seven Grand Slam singles finals, announced the move earlier this week, with the news greeted with widespread surprise.

The Scot only retired from tennis earlier this year, but will now team up with his former rival in the build-up to the Australian Open in January 2025, a tournament Djokovic has won a record 10 times.

“My first reaction was that Novak Djokovic wants to win more Grand Slam tournaments,” Wilander told Eurosport.
“Obviously to all of us that are tennis fans, we would love to see him win 25 Grand Slam titles and be considered the best of all time. So with Andy Murray helping him, I say that he thinks he can still win Grand Slam tournaments in 2025, and maybe even 2026.”

Wilander, a seven-time major winner himself, thought Murray’s appointment to the coaching team would give Djokovic an edge over his younger rivals after a season in which the veteran has largely fallen behind.

The 2024 season marked the first time since 2017 that the Serb had failed to win a major and add to his joint-record tally of 24, although he did complete a lifelong dream by winning Olympic gold.
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“I think the message that Novak is sending is that he still thinks that he has some of his best tennis still in him, or he thinks that his best tennis is still ahead of him,” Wilander said. “It’s a strong [message] towards Janick Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz and the best players in the world.”

Sinner and Alcaraz shared the year’s four majors between them, with Alcaraz defeating Djokovic in the Wimbledon showpiece and Sinner beating him in the Australian Open semi-finals en route to his first major title.

Murray in his prime was billed as one of the ‘Big Four’, alongside Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, the dominant men’s players for much of this century. The 37-year-old lost the majority of their meetings but was one of few players capable of consistently matching Djokovic’s level, including in his brilliant 2016 season, when he triumphed in their Olympic singles final to defend his 2012 title, became the year-end world No. 1 and defeated the Serb to lift the ATP Finals trophy.

“I think it’s an excellent move, Andy Murray is going to be an excellent coach,” Wilander added. “He understands how hard you have to work. He understands how hard you can work, physically, and still be in top shape physically on the court. I think he understands how to play your best tennis when you really need to.

“We always talk about peaking and Andy knows how to peak because if you win Olympic gold two times, and you win Wimbledon two times, and you are from Great Britain, you understand how to be your best at the most crucial time.”