Novak Djokovic will fight for all Grand Slam titles in 2025 with Andy Murray in his corner: Ex-ATP pro makes bold claim
Ex-ATP pro Jurgen Melzer has predicted Novak Djokovic to fight for all the Grand Slams in 2025, especially now that he has Andy Murray working alongside him. While the Austrian admitted that Djokovic will have to think differently as a player now that he is 37, he expects him to still be playing at a top level.
2024 was a bizarre year for the 24-time Grand Slam champion. Although he won the Paris Olympics to complete the elusive Career Golden Slam, he did not win a single ATP tournament across the season. He also split with his long-time coach Goran Ivanisevic midway through but made up for it by hiring Murray to start the next year.
In light of all that, Melzer has given his verdict on what 2025 will hold for the World No. 7. For starters, the former World No. 8 believes that Djokovic will get a motivational boost from Murray.
He also predicted that the veteran duo will focus solely on Grand Slams, and make sure that Djokovic is at his best self playing at these four tournaments when compared to others.
“Novak has to train differently, more intelligently than when he was 30. He can no longer carry the same workload, he has to carefully choose the areas in which he wants to improve. A body at his age regenerates at a different speed, that’s why he brought Murray to the team, because he has been through everything in recent years," he said in an interview with Tennisnet.
"Murray can be a motivational boost, he can give him new joy from training. For Nole, it’s all about the Grand Slams, if he loses at a Masters 1000 it won’t be so dramatic. I think in 2025 we will see him fighting for all the Grand Slam titles," he added.
The first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open, will see the Serb seeded outside the top 4. Last year, he reached the semifinals in Melbourne before falling to eventual champ Jannik Sinner.
"An incredible combination" - Jurgen Melzer on Novak Djokovic-Andy Murray partnership
Speaking in the interview, Jurgen Melzer shared his excitement about seeing how Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray work together, calling it an 'incredible' combination.
Melzer opined that Murray could help out the Serb a lot because of his impressive tennis IQ, with an added bonus that he might be one of the very people in the world capable of looking Djokovic straight in the eye and giving advice.
“I think it’s an incredible combination, which is extremely good for tennis. Apart from the huge headlines he has generated, I think Andy can help Novak a lot – there are very few who have his IQ on the court."
"Even a legend like Djokovic can learn a lot from him, he still has a lot to hear, so now he can discuss a lot of topics with Muray, who can look him straight in the eye. That could lead to a very successful partnership," he said.
The former World No. 1 will start his year at the Brisbane International in the tune-up to the Australian Open.