“It’s exciting to see and I’m looking forward to what’s to come” – Zimonjic on the Djokovic-Murray partnership

Djokovic appointed the recently retired Murray as his coach in a move that stunned the tennis world last week

Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, ATP Finals 2016 Image Credit: Antoine Couvercelle / Panoramic

November 26, 2024

Nenad Zimonjic, the retired Serbian tennis player who has been close to the Novak Djokovic camp for several years, is excited about the new partnership between the Serb and Andy Murray.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion stunned the tennis world last week by hiring Murray, who only retired earlier this year at the Paris Olympics, as his new coach. The pair have decided to work through the end of the Australian Open for now.

Zimonjic, who has been described by Djokovic as an older brother, believes that Murray’s experience as a player and his time with different coaches of his own, will prove to be beneficial to Djokovic, who failed to win any Grand Slam title in 2024 but did win the Olympics singles gold medal in Paris.

“Novak is a very smart guy in making decisions and his career is proof of that,” Zimonjic said in an interview to the Ubitennis website. “So whenever he needed something really special in terms of coach and help, he reached out. The results are proof of that and I would say that he knows the best. They (Djokovic and Murray) know each other quite well and they’ve been playing against each other or together since they were kids. They have a similar style. Tactically, Andy was one of the best guys. So he can help him with a different view and different perspectives. This is something new for Andy. All the experience that he had with the different coaches in the past and him being a player going through similar situations on his own, it can definitely help.”

They could continue working together but it might depend on how much Andy wants to travel as well after playing for so many years.

Zimonjic and Djokovic — Zuma / Panoramic

Zimonjic, a winner of eight Grand Slam doubles titles in his career, believes that the partnership could work out well but a longer duration would also depend on how much Murray may want to travel and be away from his family.

“This is something that is going to be new for everybody. That’s probably why they agreed to work through the Australian Open and see how that goes and if it fits well,” he said. “Andy is going to be one of the team members there, they’re all together. They have a lot of experience. The whole team together with Novak and to have Andy as an addition, I think, can work out well. They could continue working together but it might depend on how much Andy wants to travel as well after playing for so many years.”

“I wish them good luck. I was a good friend with Andy and I practiced many times with him and even had the chance to play doubles with him in a couple of tournaments. It’s exciting to see and I’m looking forward to what’s to come,” he added.