Djokovic and Murray Part Ways – What’s Next For Former Player/Coach Duo? 

Novak Djokovic is arguably the best tennis player of all time. The popular GOAT has had success on court through three decades starting in the late 2000s, all the way through the 2010s, and even at the beginning of 2020s. Even if you prefer Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer, there’s no arguing that Novak is a unique talent and that we will not be seeing anyone like him anytime soon. In addition to his impeccable on court career, the Serbian became well known as someone who is hard to work with when things are not going too well. 

Now that the end of his career is approaching, things are not what they used to be for the most decorated tennis player of all time. One of the latest attempts to boost his career was hiring his former rival and friend Andy Murray as a coach. Playing and coaching are not the same thing and it was soon evident that as far as Novak Djokovic goes, Murray was in over his head. After six not so successful months of cooperation, Novak and Andy have parted ways, and the British former Grand Slam winner is no longer the Serbian’s coach. 

According to sources from both camps the decision to end their professional relationship was mutual. Novak will continue, for now, without a full-time coach, though Dusan Vemic will join him for Geneva and Roland-Garros. The Serb remains adamant that he can still compete at majors despite his advancing age and the ascension of players such as Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. So far, Djokovic took home 24 Grand Slams, and it is obvious he does not deem Murray the right man to lead him to 25th and even beyond that number. 

The pair had been together since November, and in that time frame, Novak failed to win even a single tournament. Yes, the former No 1 hasn’t been playing the entire calendar, but it was evident that he and Murray weren’t having the results they desired. The year did start well for Djokovic who was dominant in reaching the Australian Open semi-finals before he was forced to retreat due to an injury. He’s been healing since, and after early exits in Monte-Carlo and Madrid, he decided to skip Rome, choosing to play at the Geneva Open in the search for form. Considering that many of the top ranked tennis players are not playing at this tournament it is a good opportunity to go to Stake and bet on Novak winning his first tournament of the year, as we can rest assured that the Serbian wants to hit form fast.  

The year so far has been sub-par for Novak’s standards. The 37-year old tennis player from Serbia had a good outing in Miami this year where he lost to Jakub Mensik, a 19-year old Czech player in the final. While other performances weren’t good, Novak still posted a heartfelt parting message on his social media platforms stating that after their six months together as a player/coach duo their friendship only deepened. 

Murray also took the news of their parting to social media platforms and took the opportunity to thank Novak Djokovic for all the work they put together and an opportunity to coach one of the legendary tennis players, and to wish him all the best in battles to come. 

While both men claim that the experience has benefitted them – Djokovic in short term, and Murray in the long term as he looks to go deeper into the coaching waters, the split was not without controversies. As expected, many faces from the world of tennis had a comment to make on the subject. One of the funniest comments came from Daniil Medvedev, who said that the pair was bound to fail as he compared the Novak/Andy situation to an imaginary football metaphor where Cristiano Ronaldo would take the mantle of being Leo Messi’s coach. 

If you’ve been following Novak Djokovic’s tennis career you ought to know that he plays his best game when facing adversity. This is one such situation in his illustrious career, and while he’s been almost written off, we wouldn’t do that if we were to make a simple bet on tennis. Novak is not one of the top favourites at the French Open, so placing a few quids on him would be wise as we see him reaching at least a final. Being so close to participation in two tournaments, it is clear that Novak will play without a proper coach in the next few weeks, yet that begs the question – what’s next for Novak, and where will Andy go from here? 

As far as Djokovic goes, his focus is still mainly on the court. We all know that the Serb has some unfinished business in the world of tennis. He still needs to win at least one tournament, to reach the magical number of 100. Also, there’s the little matter of being the undisputed Grand Slam champion which will happen if and when he takes home his 25th title. You don’t need to be a tennis expert to know that Novak has his eyes set on both the French Open and Wimbledon. 

With Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in good form, it is hard to envisage Novak taking home that tournament despite his legacy there. Yet, that’s where Novak hopes of winning his 25th Grand Slam lie. Roland-Garros will be  a testing ground for the Serbian as he looks to achieve his goals in England. 

As we mentioned earlier, this is a good period to consider favouring Novak playing out of his mind and above his current limits, and if you’re into sports betting to have him winning at least one of the three upcoming Grand Slams. If anyone can do it, it is Novak, and if we can take anything out of his career it is that he should never be underestimated. 

Niovak says he is in no hurry to hire a new coach. What’s known is that he is currently working with Boris Bosnjakovic. Boris is a well known face in the world of tennis, and he has been working with Novak earlier in his career. He will be the bridge coach until a new one is announced, alongside Dusan Vemic.

While Djokovic’s plans for the foreseeable future remain unclear, at least his goals are easy to understand. As far as Andy is concerned, it is hard to predict what he will do next. Now that he got a taste for tennis coaching, it might be that he will find his future calling there. While this is a possibility, before Novak Djokovic came calling, Murray had no desire nor intention to enter  coaching, at least not so soon. A call from Novak was not an opportunity to pass on, and Andy was eager to accept. While at the Australian Open it appeared that both men will benefit from their partnership, it became clear that they’re not a match made in heaven. 

With a net worth exceeding $110 million it is clear that unemployment will not fall hard on the Scot, as he will be looking to spend more time with his family and his endeavours outside of tennis. If he ever feels like taking on a role of a pundit we are sure that a place at BBC awaits him. In recent weeks, when the news of Murray/Djokovic split became public, some pundits even suggested that Murray would be an ideal choice to coach Emma Raducanu at Wimbledon. 

What fans of tennis need to be focused on is Djokovic’s on court performances and whether he will fare better now that Andy is no longer his coach. If he comes back to winning ways, many will justify his firing of Murray. On the other hand it might be possible that Novak’s poor form has nothing to do with Murray, but that simply father time has come for his career too, as it did once for Nadal, Federer, and Murray.