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With just days remaining until the start of the French Open main draw in Paris, Novak Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam champion, revealed the reason behind splitting with his latest coach Andy Murray. The 37-year-old pointed out that he “couldn’t get more” out of the partnership on court with his former rival, who turned to coaching after his retirement last year, which is why he parted ways with him earlier in May.
Notably, after their working partnership, which lasted for six months, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are looking to move ahead, with the Serbian taking a wildcard at the Geneva Open, to prepare himself for the second Grand Slam of the year in Paris, starting on May 25. With the last few months being quite tough on court for the veteran, losing in the first rounds in Monte Carlo and Madrid, while deciding to skip the Italian Open.
We felt like we couldn't get more out of that partnership on the court, and that's all there is to it: Novak Djokovic
In one of his latest interviews, Novak Djokovic talked at length about his partnership with Andy Murray, stating that it didn’t quite work out well, but the respect between both of them stayed the same. He was quoted as saying, as per BBC Sport, “We felt like we couldn't get more out of that partnership on the court, and that's all there is to it. My respect towards Andy remains the same, even more actually, I got to know him as a person.”
“I think he has a brilliant tennis IQ, he has a very rare mind of a champion that obviously has achieved what he has achieved, and he sees the game incredibly well,” he added.
Novak Djokovic is also headed to an unprecedented record of becoming the second player to win 100 ATP titles in his career, but it won’t be easy for him at the Geneva or French Open since he hasn’t won a match on clay this season. As far as the next coach is concerned, he remarked, “At the moment, I'm not in need of a coach. I don't need to rush in any context. I feel comfortable with the people around me. In the next few tournaments, we'll see what happens.”
