The most surprising part is the timing. Murray quit his playing career just four months ago. That time was shared between his family and his golf club, but as he said on the Control the Controllabables podcast last year, he often gets bored at lunchtime on Wednesdays when his kids are at school.
The opportunity to work with Djokovic is unlikely to come again and, having lost to the Serbian four times in the Melbourne final, he may think he will never have a better opportunity to win the Australian Open.
As a joke, there doesn’t seem to be much of a downside. Djokovic has not currently played in any matches prior to the Australian Open, so Murray will be free to enjoy his Christmas break at home after working together during the off-season.
Their Melbourne practice sessions will be a box office hit, and it will be interesting to see how their relationship develops and whether Murray can be part of Djokovic’s team at another Grand Slam tournament this year.
Delgado said of their relationship, “They always got along well, but I don’t think they were as close as they were when they were younger.”
“There was so much going on, but they had tremendous respect for each other.”
“Andy always thought very highly of himself. [Djokovic’s] The game and how difficult it was to play against him. “My respect is through the roof.”
Their last major accomplishment in competitive play was competing for world No. 1 at the end of 2016.
“When me and Novak talk to each other, we don’t talk about tennis or rankings or the games we play against each other,” Murray said earlier that year.
“Maybe things will change when we finish the game.”
