‘Novak Djokovic has sent strong message to Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz with Andy Murray hire’
Former world No 1 Mats Wilander has given his verdict on Novak Djokovic’s decision to hire Andy Murray as his new coach.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion feels Djokovic has sent “a strong message” to Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and his other rivals at the top of the sport.
In a video shared on social media, Djokovic shocked the tennis world with the exciting news that Murray will join his team ahead of the 2025 Australian Open.
“I am excited to have one of my greatest rivals on the same side of the net, as my coach,” the 37-year-old Serbian said.
“Looking forward to start of the season and competing in Australia alongside Andy with whom I have shared many exceptional moments on the Australian soil.
“We played each other since we were boys, 25 years of pushing each other to our limits. We had some of the most epic battles in our sport. They called us game changers, risk takers, history makers.
“I thought our story may be over. Turns out it has one final chapter. It’s time for one of my toughest opponents to step into my corner. Welcome aboard, coach Andy Murray.”
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Murray also commented on the partnership, saying: “I’m going to be joining Novak’s team in the off-season, helping him to prepare for the Australian Open.
“I’m really excited for it and looking forward to spending time on the same side of the net as Novak for a change, helping him to achieve his goals.”
In an interview with Eurosport, Wilander argued Djokovic’s move proves he still has the desire to add to his record Grand Slam tally of 24.
“My first reaction was that Novak Djokovic wants to win more Grand Slam tournaments,” the Swede said.
“Obviously to all of us that are tennis fans, we would love to see him win 25 Grand Slam titles and be considered the best of all time.
“So with Andy Murray helping him, I say that he thinks he can still win Grand Slam tournaments in 2025, and maybe even 2026.
“I think the message that Novak is sending is that he still thinks that he has some of his best tennis still in him, or he thinks that his best tennis is still ahead of him.
“It’s a strong [message] towards Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz and the best players in the world.”
The tennis legend also explained how he believes Murray will be able to help Djokovic.
“What Andy can do is he can tell Novak things that maybe Novak already knows, but Andy has played against all these players that Novak will face and Andy has seen them, he’s practised with them,” Wilander continued.
“He has talked to the likes of Jannik Sinner, to Carlos Alcaraz, to [Daniil] Medvedev, [Stefanos] Tsitsipas, [Alexander] Zverev.
“He will not have secrets, but he will have other opinions about these guys’ games. I think there’s a lot of small details that Andy Murray will know that maybe Novak doesn’t think about.
“I think the big picture is going to be very similar. Andy has won three Grand Slam titles, a couple of Olympic gold medals, he’s won the Davis Cup. So the big picture, they both have the exact same idea about.
“How do you prepare for a Grand Slam? How important are the tournaments on the ATP Tour? And then how do you play five-set matches depending on, is it the first round? Is it the quarter-finals? Is Novak tired from the match before? Do we play quick points? Do we play long points? How strong is my opponent over five hours?
“There are a lot of things that Novak Djokovic will know, but that maybe he doesn’t think about in that specific match.”
