Andy Murray will meet with Novak Djokovic to consider the future of their trial partnership following the 24-times grand slam champion’s retirement from the semi-finals of the Australian Open on Friday afternoon.
Murray and Djokovic had initially agreed to work together until the end of the Australian Open, with the Briton coaching his former rival. Asked whether he would like to continue their partnership, Murray said: “Me and Novak agreed that after the tournament we would speak. We’ll do that.”
Djokovic was forced to retire from his Australian Open semi-final match against Alexander Zverev, the second seed, while trailing 7-6 (5) due to a tear in his left thigh. After a gruelling 80 minutes of play, Zverev narrowly took the first set on a tiebreak after Djokovic missed an easy forehand volley on set point.
As soon as the set had concluded, Djokovic crossed the net and conceded the match, to the surprise and dismay of many fans at the Rod Laver Arena. After the defeat, Djokovic said he would have positive feedback for Murray.
“I’ll definitely have a chat with Andy and thank him for being here with me,” the 10-time Australian Open champion said. “Give him my feedback, which is, of course, positive, and see how he feels and we make the next step.”
Djokovic had reached the semi-finals with an incredible quarter-final performance over Carlos Alcaraz, pulling off a remarkable comeback from a set down despite struggling with a thigh injury. He did not train in the two days after his win, though, only returning to the court around noon on Friday to warm up for his semi-final.
“It was an unfortunate way to finish,” said Murray. “The match that he played against Alcaraz was some incredible tennis, amazing to watch from the side from that close, it was an amazing performance. He’d been getting gradually better as the tournament was progressing, I think. It’s obviously a really unfortunate way to finish.”
“It’s hard. When you get to that stage of the tournament, you feel like you’re getting very close to something very special, and it’s unfortunate if the body’s not responding in the way that you would would like,” Murray added.
“With Novak there’s always hope with him because of how great a player he is and has found ways out of difficult situations before. It just wasn’t to be this time.”
After spending around eight days together during the off-season, the Australian Open marked the duo’s first time working together on-site at a tournament. Murray said he was “a little bit embarrassed” by the attention their partnership has received but he has had a great experience working with Djokovic and his team.
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‘I tried’: Novak Djokovic after retiring against Zverev at Australian Open – video
“I feel like they’ve been a great team,” said Murray, who lost four Melbourne finals to Djokovic during his playing career. “At times it feels a little bit embarrassing because of my relationship with Novak, how much people talk about that or when there’s a good result or a good performance that it’s because I’ve helped him.
“I’m fully aware that the team that is with him has done an incredible job over many, many years to allow him to still be competing at this level at the age that he’s at,” Murray added. “They’ve all been really, really helpful to me. They really welcomed me into the team. It’s been great to be a part of. I got to witness some amazing tennis, and one of the best matches that I’ve seen live against Alcaraz.
“It’s a steep learning curve for me as well,” he continued. “Obviously there’s a lot of things that as a player, you know things are different when you’re coaching, there’s a lot more that you need to help with in terms of communication around the team.
“You’re not just thinking about yourself like you are when you’re a player. I’ve certainly learned a lot but there’s a lot more still for me to learn, that’s for sure.”
