"Novak Djokovic has always tapped into smart players, he brought in Andre Agassi" - Tennis insider gives his verdict on Serb's Andy Murray hire
Tennis insider Christopher Clarey weighed in on Novak Djokovic’s decision to hire Andy Murray as his coach ahead of the 2025 season. Clarey noted that the Serb has always been strategic in choosing “smart players” as coaches, referencing his previous collaboration with Andre Agassi.
Djokovic has had several coaches up till now, many of them were well-known players themselves. Andre Agassi, being the notable one, joined the 24-time Major winner's team in May 2017. Under his guidance, the Serb managed to win the Eastbourne International and later, in 2018, they parted ways.
In a recent episode of the Courtside Conversations podcast by Roland Garros, Christopher Clarey, a renowned New York Times columnist and author of The Master (a biography of Roger Federer), shared his thoughts on Novak Djokovic’s choice of coaches.
Clarey said:
“He's brought in all along, he's always tapped into smart, high-level tennis players. Ljubicic, when he's working with Riccardo Piatti, he brought in Agassi for a while. He's had Todd Martin come with him before. These are pretty cerebral people in a lot of ways.”
Clarey also shared his thoughts on the surprising partnership between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. He described Murray, Djokovic’s former rival, as smart and highly knowledgeable about the sport:
“Andy is a smart guy, he knows a lot about tennis.”
The Brit's expertise and experience could prove valuable to the Serb as he aims to clinch a record-breaking 25th Major in 2025.
"It caught Andy Murray little bit off guard... he wasn't expecting it" - Novak Djokovic on approaching the Brit
Tennis fans were left in shock when last month Novak Djokovic announced that his former rival and former World No.1, Andy Murray, would be joining his coaching team for the 2025 season.
In an interview with Sky Sports, the Serb revealed that it took him around six months to decide on a coach, as he wanted someone with the right experience.
”So I took about six months to really think about if I needed a coach and if yes, who that's going to be and the profile of the coach,"
He added:
“I realised that the perfect coach for me at this point would be someone that has been through the experiences that I'm going through. Possibly a multiple grand slam winner and former number one."
Djokovic also opened up about how the Brit was initially taken by surprise by his offer.
“I was thinking about different people and then Andy Murray, ……. 'okay, I'm going to give him a call and see how it goes' and it caught him a little bit off guard as well, because he wasn't expecting it," he said.
Novak Djokovic is set to kick off the next season at the Brisbane International, where he will team up with Nick Kyrgios for doubles—a surprising yet thrilling collaboration.