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Andy Murray just can’t quit tennis.

And so, in a blockbuster “Big 4” collab that will begin this off-season and run through the Australian summer, the newly-retired Scot will be the coach of …

… Novak Djokovic.

How much fun is this going to be, truly, on so many levels?

It’s impressive that this news didn’t actually leak out before the two made a joint post on social media Saturday.

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A post shared by Novak Djokovic (@djokernole)

Djokovic has made a fair few changes to the team around him in this final stage of his career. And you’d think that some of that is to keep things fresh, prevent things from getting stale, to make sure the motivation is there to keep excelling for as long as he plays.

He parted ways with Goran Ivanisevic earlier this year, and hasn’t really had a coach since then as he failed to win a major title for the first time since 2017.

Djokovic did, however, strike that last item off his bucket list with the singles gold medal at the Olympic Games in Paris.

Having Murray around certainly isn’t going to lead to any significant changes in his game, which at this point is fairly set in stone.

But having the eye of another Hall of Fame player as he returns in 2025 after a fairly long break, looking to be prepared to try to pick off that elusive 25th Grand Slam title in Australia, can only help.

Djokovic holds a 25-11 lead in that rivalry, during which Murray’s last win came in 2016. But he certainly has some pretty good insight into HOW be beat him, even if those memories aren’t all that fresh. And that’s the kind of intel you just won’t get from a typical coach.

They rarely met in anything other than the late stages of big events; even their first meeting, all the way back in 2006, was at the Masters 1000 in Madrid.

And Murray’s trademark intensity for the sport likely won’t drop off a BIT, even if he’s sitting in the coaching box rather than sweating on court.

The two are only a week apart in age; both turn 38 in May.

Turnabout is fair play

There is SO much to look forward to with this All-Star hookup. And one of the most fun will be to see how Murray reacts in the coaches’ box.

He was notorious through his career for throwing absolute … INVECTIVE at his people during matches. And Djokovic isn’t above doing that, as well.

(NSFW)

How hilarious will be it be to see, in those tight moments in a match, the Serb throwing darts at Murray? He will have to sit helpless in his seat, unable to clap back. Worth the price of admission, right there.

Another plus for Djokovic will be that Murray isn’t long retired. And while it’s hard to know if he could withstand a gruelling, two-hour training session in the off-season, the quality of his ball will be better than even the best of hitting partners Djokovic could come up with.

Murray as coach? A debut at the top

You wouldn’t have thought that after 20 years out there grinding, Murray would have been eager to get back on the road so soon.

Then again, it’s not that much of a shock, is it? Murray absolutely devours the sport. That doesn’t just switch off just because the career ends.

The arrangement seems open-ended beyond the Aussie summer.

And it’s quite an unusual one, isn’t it.

In recent years, Roger Federer had Stefan Edberg as a coach/consultant for a number of weeks through a few seasons. It was a great opportunity for him to have a player he idolized around to have dinner with, and pick his brain. But Edberg had been long retired by then.

Djokovic had Andre Agassi, albeit for a brief period.

But this – a player barely retired from the Tour (just four months ago) coming back to work with a legend?

It would almost be like Rafael Nadal coming back to work with Carlos Alcaraz. Crazy stuff.

Djokovic and Murray have so much history together, going back to the juniors. They’ve always been supportive of each other even if it seems a somewhat unlikely duo on the surface.

But they match each other in intensity

If you were already looking for reasons to look forward to 2025, here’s the first one.

And the 2024 season isn’t even officially done yet.

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