Andy Murray will coach Novak Djokovic during the Australian Open (Image: Getty)
has been tipped to spend the whole year coaching after joining the world No. 7’s team.
The Brit only retired over the summer, and he’s already returning to the tennis tour as Djokovic’s mentor as they get set to try out their partnership during the off-season and Australian Open.
Fellow retired player-turned-coach Jeremy Chardy has now had his say on their link-up, telling that Murray would stay on for the full season while debating whether both men would “have a fight”.
Murray and Djokovic dropped the very unexpected news a few weeks ago, . The world No. 7 had been without a coach since parting ways with Goran Ivanisevic in March.
Announcing the news, Djokovic remarked: “I am excited to have one of my greatest rivals on the same side of the net, as my coach.” Murray, who only retired at the Olympics at the beginning of August, said he was “really excited” to help Djokovic achieve his goals.
The news got everyone talking, with joking that Murray was trying to while said their partnership was “incredible for tennis”.
Chardy, a former world No. 25 who also went into coaching when he retired, has now given his verdict on their partnership, telling Express Sport that things won’t change overnight.
“For me, they will go for the full year on the big tournaments and if it’s going well they will continue,” the Frenchman said.
Jeremy Chardy also turned to coaching after retiring from professional tennis (Image: Getty)
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“When you’re an athlete, you know that nothing is magical so it’s not because Andy is coming that it’s going to change everything but we need six months to start to see improvement and to be able to do some work.
“It’s not magical, it’s a process, you need to believe in the process, believe in the direction you are taking. If they have decided to work together, it means they believe they can do something really good together.”
Chardy, who coaches world No. 14 Ugo Humbert, also thinks both men will be taking their roles “very seriously” – and will likely be in it for longer than planned.
“I’m not really surprised because I think the only goal of Djokovic is to win another Grand Slam and I think Andy is one of the best in tactics and I think he took him to try to find a way to win against the best player like [Jannik] Sinner, [Carlos] Alcaraz and to work on that,” he continued.
“It’s very serious. [Novak] not here to have fun. He will play less tournaments because he starts to get older, physically it will be more difficult for him, but I’m sure he’s going to prepare to be at the peak at every Grand Slam and if he has Andy in his team, he’s 100 per cent sure he will help him.
“He’s here for a reason, he’s not here for fun or for media. People sometimes think they will do stuff because they’re going to retire or something but on that level, you don’t do anything for fun.
“You want to compete, you want to play, you want to win and once you lose this passion, you stop playing, you don’t play for fun. Especially when you’re a legend like Djokovic, and the same for Andy. You don’t go to coach Novak just for fun or to not try to help him.”
There’s something else Chardy wants to watch out for – a potential “fight”. During their careers, Murray and Djokovic have both often found themselves shouting and venting towards their boxes.
Now that the three-time Major winner will be in Djokovic’s camp, does Chardy believe they could start yelling at each other? He replied: “I don’t think so because they also have big respect for each other and respect on the court, off the court.
“They are not like really close friends but they know each other so it’s difficult, the relationship will be difficult because Andy was one of the top players and he beat him and when you are outside, on the box, you don’t see the things the same way.”
However, Chardy doesn’t believe it will be a bad thing if they do have a spat. “I don’t think they will have a fight. But maybe! Because sometimes you need to have a fight, it’s good to have a fight. No, I think they respect too much each other,” he smiled.
Djokovic will start his season at the Brisbane International, though Murray will not join him there. The Brit is expected to travel to Melbourne to help his old rival win a record-extending 11th Australian Open crown.