- The legendary rivals had been working together since Australian Open build-up
Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have ended their partnership six months on from their debut ahead of the Australian Open.
The former British No1 retired from professional tennis in the summer of 2024, but few predicted that his first foray into coaching would come so soon afterwards, or with such a legendary rival from his playing career.
Djokovic and Murray announced their partnership at the tail-end of last season, and the Serbian played his first match with the two-time Wimbledon champion in his players’ box at the Brisbane Open.
While his warm-up ahead of the first Grand Slam of the year ended prematurely with a quarter-final exit to Reilly Opelka, the duo’s labours saw more success in Melbourne.
There, Djokovic reached the semi-finals, memorably despatching his Olympics rival Carlos Alcaraz in four sets, before he was forced to retire through injury against Alexander Zverev.
Murray later accompanied Djokovic through the Sunshine Swing of Indian Wells and the Miami Open, with the 37-year-old reaching the final in the latter tournament – only to be downed in two sets by one of his major acolytes on the tour, Jakub Mensik.
Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray will end their surprise partnership after six months of work
Djokovic has had an uneasy time on clay in recent weeks and is looking to tune up ahead of the French Open – and his elusive 25th Grand Slam
Murray and Djokovic enjoyed a promising Australian Open before the player was forced to retire due to injury
After early first-round departures in Monte-Carlo and Madrid, Djokovic has since opted to skip this week’s Italian Open in Rome.
A representative of Murray announced the news on Tuesday morning, just six weeks before the start of Wimbledon.
‘Thanks to Novak for the unbelievable opportunity to work together and thanks to his team for all their hard work over the past six months,’ Murray said in a statement.
‘I wish Novak all the best for the rest of the season.’
Djokovic later posted on social media: ‘Thank you, coach Andy, for all the hard work, fun & support over last six months on & off the court.
‘I really enjoyed deepening out friendship together (prayer hands emoji).’
The 24-time Grand Slam winner is keen to halt his declining season on clay with an appearance at next week’s Geneva Open to fine tune his game ahead of the French Open at the end of the month.
But Tuesday’s news will come as a blow to those hoping to catch a glimpse of Murray in Djokovic’s box during Wimbledon, which gets underway in six weeks time.
The pair had previously announced that their partnership was due to continue for an ‘indefinite amount of time’ after demurring over a specific timeline in February.
