Justine Henin 'not surprised' by Djokovic-Murray split ahead of Roland Garros: 'This period of doubt is huge'

Former world No. 1 Justine Henin was not surprised by the announcement of the separation between Novak Djokovic and his coach Andy Murray. The Brit joined his former rival just a few months after his retirement, and they managed to work together for a handful of tournaments over the last 5 months.

The 3-time Grand Slam champion did not accompany Nole in all his commitments, as he was only with him at the Australian Open and the Sunshine Double in Indian Wells and Miami Open. However, Murray had not traveled to the Qatar Open in February, and recently was also not in Monte-Carlo Masters. Their last tournament together was the Madrid Open, with Djokovic's early defeat at the hands of Matteo Arnaldi in his debut match.

Seven-time Grand Slam champion Justine Henin recently commented on Eurosport about her impressions of the end of the partnership just a few months after it began and only a few weeks before Roland Garros. "I'm not surprised about this decision. We can speak about the timing of it," she said. "We thought maybe they would have been going to Wimbledon together. This is what they said after the Australian Open: 'Let’s speak about it and if we still want to collaborate'.

"But did they really expect something? Both of them? What is certain is Djokovic knew Andy Murray would be helpful, but it was also to bring something fresh, some power, telling himself, 'With Andy Murray, I have to find this motivation, to offer him my motivation'. He probably thinks about this, about this motivation, and that’s why he has taken this decision now."

"It’s impossible to answer this [if Djokovic will continue without a specific coach]. We are not in his head, but this period of doubt is huge," she added. "Everything will come from him, from his resources, his wishes to stay here at this level. We don’t know about his personal issues, if he has some. There are a lot of unknown topics.”

Djokovic plans his next appearance for the Geneva Open, a tournament he added to his schedule at the last minute after withdrawing from the Rome Open. The Serb lost in his two appearances on clay courts this season in Monte-Carlo (against Alejandro Tabilo) and Madrid (against Arnaldi). Geneva will be his last appearance before the French Open, where in 2024 he reached the quarterfinals, withdrawing before facing Casper Ruud.