Novak Djokovic is trying to find new stimuli in the last stage of his legendary career. The Serbian ace has just experienced one of the most delicate seasons of his career, in which he did not win a single title. The former world number 1 saved his 2024 thanks to the surprising victory at the Paris Olympics, where he won that gold medal he had been chasing for many years.

According to some fans and insiders, the triumph in Paris this summer may also have accelerated the process that will lead him to retire from tennis. The 24-time Grand Slam champion completed the puzzle thanks to success in the Olympic tournament and it is difficult to identify new goals.

His next goal could be to win the 25th Major and the 100th title of his glorious career, but it will not be easy at all to compete with opponents much younger than him at almost 38 years old. Because of this, the current world number 7 has made a quite shocking decision.

Djokovic sends a signal

At the 2025 Australian Open, the 37-year-old from Belgrade will be followed by his former rival Andy Murray as coach. The former Scottish champion – who said goodbye to professional tennis at the Paris Olympics – is willing to follow Nole to Australia and will try to help him achieve another legendary feat.

It is no mystery that their collaboration has generated comments in every corner of the world. The 3-time Grand Slam champion has never been a coach and has no experience, but he knows Novak very well and knows how to interpret the dynamics of modern tennis.

It is unclear how long the collaboration between Djokovic and Murray will last, but Andy will hardly be able to travel for many weeks during the year. The former world number 1 has a beautiful family and is also organizing a theatrical tour, which is why he does not seem willing to be a full-time coach.

In a recent interview with Eurosport, former doubles World No.1 Nicolas Mahut expressed his point of view about Nole’s future: “Honestly, I was a bit pessimistic about Novak, I thought he was already heading to the end of his career, I didn’t see him winning Grand Slams in 2025. That’s the feeling I had with him, I’m sure he felt it, himself too.

In situations where you struggle to find those personal resources within yourself, one tends to look for them outside, that’s why renewing your team can be a trigger.

This is where Andy, who has been his rival for years, but has known him since they were kids, comes in. I’m sure he’ll give you a big boost and they will both want to do well. Now I have the feeling that we can see a great Novak again.”

He also reflected on the new partnership between Djokovic and Murray: “He can contribute on the emotional side, on the mental side and, above all, bring him a lot in the game. Although Andy has no coaching experience, he has complete knowledge of Novak, he has known him for more than 20 years and that is a big advantage.”

A fascinating experience

The former British player knows all the opponents that Novak will face in Melbourne next January and can be very useful to him especially from a tactical point of view.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion knows he has to find new solutions to surprise Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who are much younger than him and have widened the gap in the last twelve months. Jannik defeated Nole in the semifinals of the 2024 Australian Open and the final of the Rolex Shanghai Masters, while Carlitos prevented him from winning Wimbledon in 2023 and 2024.

The Serbian champion struggled a lot in second-tier tournaments, even losing to opponents much inferior to him. The losses against Nardi in Indian Wells and Tabilo in Rome were perhaps the worst of his season, not to mention the defeat against Ruud in the semifinal of the Monte Carlo Masters 1000.

Novak wants to get off to a good start in 2025 and is aware that a great result in Australia would also be crucial for the rest of the season. The 37-year-old from Belgrade confided that he is no longer interested in the ATP ranking, which is why his schedule will be very reduced next year as well.

Djokovic will focus only on Grand Slam tournaments and the Davis Cup, in which he has the chance to represent his country. The Serbian wants to win the Davis Cup again after the triumph in 2011, when there was still the traditional format.