Novak Djokovic decision sends shockwaves through sports world

It was later confirmed that Murray will coach Djokovic through the offseason and the 2025 Australian Open. It's unknown if the partnership will continue into the rest of the year. 

Ironically, Murray lost to Djokovic four times in the final of the Australian Open (2016, 2015, 2013 and 2011) and another time in the semifinal (2012) at the Melbourne major. 

Murray will try to help Djokovic return to winning ways after the Serb endured his worst overall season since 2005. A victory in Melbourne will give Djokovic his 11th Australian Open crown, 100th ATP title and 25th career major. The last of those feats will officially cement Djokovic as the winningest player in tennis history, surpassing Margaret Court, who also won 24 majors in her career.

Although Murray knows Djokovic's strengths and weaknesses better than any player in history, there's no guarantee the partnership will work. In the past, the likes of Ivan Lendl, Pat Cash and Goran Ivanisevic made triumphant transitions to the coaching chair, but Boris Becker, Andre Agassi and John McEnroe had limited success in their roles. As such, it's always a hit-and-miss when a historically great player becomes a coach.

Paul Annacone, though, is optimistic about the Djokovic-Murray pairing. Annacone, who previously coached Pete Sampras and Roger Federer, initially thought it was "fake news" when he read reports of Djokovic hiring Murray to be his coach. 

"When you look at how much these guys have battled, the thing I keep coming back to for Novak is he takes a lot of pride and thoughtfulness about having people who can relate to what he has done in his corner. [Andre] Agassi, [Boris] Becker, Murray," Annacone told Tennis Channel. "There's a lot of people he has had around him who have been very familiar with what he has done in his corner. Even Ivanisevic. And there aren't many people who have done that so this is another route in that direction."

To Annacone's point, Murray becomes the latest tennis legend to join Djokovic's team after previous stints by Todd Martin (2009-10), Becker (2013-2016), Agassi (2017-18) and Ivanisevic (2019-24). While a lot of those legends joined the team, Marian Vajda was Djokovic's head coach across two separate stints (2006-17 and 2018-22).