Novak Djokovic admitted his time alongside coach Andy Murray ended because the pair “couldn’t get more out of that partnership on court.”
Three-time Grand Slam champion Murray was a shock hire at the back-end of last year for one of his greatest rivals in Djokovic, with the pair working together for the Australian Open in January.
Djokovic impressed in Melbourne, beating Carlos Alcaraz before being forced to withdraw from his semi-final due to injury. The pair continued their partnership through hard cout events in Indian Wells and Miami, where Djokovic reached the final, and the first two clay court tournaments of the year in Monte-Carlo and Madrid.
However, after Djokovic lost his first match at both events, the pair confirmed the end of their time together last week. The French Open starts on Sunday, 25 May.
“We felt like we couldn’t get more out of that partnership on the court, and that’s all there is to it,” Djokovic said, ahead of playing in the Geneva Open this week.
“My respect towards Andy remains the same, even more actually, I got to know him as a person.
“I think he has a brilliant tennis IQ, he has a very rare mind of a champion that obviously has achieved what he has achieved, and he sees the game incredibly well.”
Djokovic, who is eyeing a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam in Paris, is also targeting a 100th tour title this week in Geneva.
The Serb, who turns 38 on Thursday, is joined this week by Dusan Vemic, a previous member of his team, and assistant coach Boris Bosnjakovic.
Djokovic has previously worked with Boris Becker and Goran Ivanisevic, but insists he is in no rush to appoint a new permanent coach.
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“At the moment, I’m not in need of a coach,” Djokovic said. “I don’t need to rush in any context. I feel comfortable with the people around me.
“In the next few tournaments, we’ll see what happens.”
Djokovic has not won a title since claiming gold at the Paris Olympics last summer, which took place on the clay courts of Roland-Garros.
