Fans of men’s tennis have been treated to almost certainly the greatest 20 years of action the sport has ever seen. With Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer going up against each other, we witnessed an era during which three of the best players of all time (the three very best in terms of Grand Slam titles won) regularly fought it out in the biggest tournaments and pushed each other on to bigger and better performances.
In addition to the big three, there was a fourth player who managed to accrue three Grand Slams, as well as appearing in a further eight finals. He lost in the final of one of the game’s biggest four tournaments three times to Federer and five times to Djokovic. His record means he cannot be considered a peer of the other three, but he wasn’t far away. Indeed, for a glorious period of almost a year from November 2016 onwards he topped the world rankings and was producing better tennis than any of his rivals.
Of those four magnificent players, all but Djokovic have now retired. There has been a changing of the guard, with 2024 seeing Djokovic fail to win a Slam for the first time since 2017. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannick Sinner are now the main men but Djokovic will certainly not have given up hope of adding to his 24 Grand Slam victories. He needs just one more to move ahead of Margaret Court in terms of overall majors (though some of hers were won before the Open Era), and he has made a surprising move to help him get over the line in 2025.
Friends, Rivals, and Now Colleagues
He never liked retirement anyway. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Ga4UlV2kQW
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) November 23, 2024
On the 23rd of November, the Serbian ace announced that Murray would be assuming duties as his coach. It was a move that shocked the world of tennis. Super-coaches are not uncommon in the sport, with the Scot having been helped by Ivan Lendl, and Djokovic by Boris Becker to name just two examples. However, never before have two players so close in age and ability linked up. Murray and Djokovic are also close personally, with their relationship having been something of a rollercoaster over the years.
Doubles Partners
The pair were relatively close friends in their younger years as juniors, unsurprising given both were magnificent prospects. Djokovic was born exactly a week after Murray and they developed at broadly the same pace, meaning that they met frequently as juniors when they attended the same training camp at times. At the age of 19 they even partnered together at the 2006 Australian Open doubles.
A Long Fierce Rivalry
Both will be hoping that the first-round defeat they suffered back then is not a portent of things to come, with the 2025 Australian Open set to be the first test of their new relationship. The first Slam of the season is perhaps, more than any other tournament, one that ties the players together. Whilst their first meeting was in a minor junior event, and Murray won, overall Djokovic very much had the upper hand and nowhere was that more evident than at Melbourne.
As both players moved up the senior rankings their friendship waned, in part due to a developing rivalry and the great hunger both men had to be the best in the world. Djokovic won the first four professional clashes between the pair, before Murray took the next three. Their eighth clash was the first at a Grand Slam and in fact, it was the final of the 2011 Australian Open.
Djokovic won that one easily in straight sets and 12 months later the pair met again in Melbourne, this time in the semis. The result was the same, although this one was a five-set thriller. It wasn’t all one-way traffic though, with Murray winning big matches against the Serb, including the semi final at the 2012 Olympics, plus hard-court finals in Cincinnati that same year, and, also in 2012, the big one, the US Open. However, Djokovic would go on to beat his new coach in a further two Australian Open finals.
Grand Slams
In some regards, their rivalry is one of the greatest in tennis, as they have met in the final of all four Grand Slam events. The only other combination of players to have done that are Djokovic (again) and Nadal. Overall, they met 10 times in Slams, with most of those clashes coming in the decisive game of the tournament. Murray beat the player he will now coach in the final at the US Open, as mentioned, and also at Wimbledon.
In fact, Murray won both of their meetings on grass, although after his victory in the final of Wimbledon 2013, his opponent went on to dominate the head-to-head. From that point on Djokovic won 14 out of 17 games between the duo, leaving him with a record of 25 wins from their 36 matches. In finals alone, things were closer at 11-8 to the Serb, although in the very biggest finals, at the majors, it was a more decisive 5-2.
Murray Knows Djokovic’s Game Better Than Any
Now, all those wonderful matches, heated moments and fierce rivalry must be put to one side. It will be very interesting to see how things pan out, with Djokovic already having worked with Becker, as well as Goran Ivanisevic and Andre Agassi, with varying degrees of success. Murray probably knows Djokovic’s game better than any of those players, having faced him so many times.
He also has more recent experience of adapting his game to cope with his own diminishing physical abilities. But perhaps more important than any of that is that Murray is a renowned tactician with a high tennis IQ, who also has the benefit of having played against the likes of Alcaraz and Sinner and, indeed, all the top players currently around.
Djokovic made a Grand Slam final, semi and quarter last season so he is clearly still among the game’s elite. If Murray can help him find just the tiniest of extra advantages in the key moments, it will be enough for Djokovic to claim that record-breaking 25th major. Whatever happens, with both men known for showing their emotions on court, it could be very fun to watch.