LONDON โ In a surprising development within the world of tennis, Novak Djokovic has parted ways with his coach, Andy Murray, just two weeks ahead of the French Open. The announcement was made public on Tuesday, revealing that the partnership between the two former top-ranked players has come to an end. Murray expressed his gratitude for having worked with Djokovic, saying, โThanks to Novak for the unbelievable opportunity to work together and thanks to his team for all their hard work over the past six months. I wish Novak all the best for the rest of the season.โ
The split follows Djokovicโs less-than-stellar performance in the recent clay-court events, where he faced first-round exits in both Monte Carlo and Madrid. Despite these setbacks, Djokovic took to social media to thank Murray for the collaboration, expressing, โfor all the hard work, fun & support over last six months on & off the court.โ He also mentioned the enjoyment of deepening their friendship during this time.
The partnership between Djokovic and Murray began unexpectedly prior to the Australian Open. After Murrayโs retirement from professional play last year, Djokovic reached out with a coaching offer, leading to the collaboration that has recently come to a close. Back in February, Djokovic had indicated that Murray would be staying on as his coach for an indefinite period, which was set to include some of the clay-court tournaments of the current season. However, Djokovic has yet to secure a tournament victory this season, following a retirement from the Australian Open semifinals due to a hamstring issue and a loss in the Miami final that left him just one win short of his 100th career title.