Novak Djokovic's new coach Andy Murray jokingly calls out Serb's lack of training during off-season amid Qatar Grand Prix adventure

Novak Djokovic's new coach Andy Murray humorously called out the Serb for his apparent lack of practice during the off-season. Djokovic recently attended the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix and mingled with F1 stars like George Russell at the Lusail International Circuit.

Following his amicable split with long-time coach Goran Ivanisevic earlier this year, the Serb announced on November 23, 2024, that Andy Murray would be his new coach heading into the 2025 season.

This decision came after the Serb faced a turbulent season despite securing Olympic gold in Paris. Murray, a former rival who retired after the 2024 Paris Olympics, will guide the 24-time Grand Slam champion through the offseason and at least until the 2025 Australian Open.

Djokovic visited the Qatar Grand Prix as a part of his new partnership with Qatar Airways, where he engaged with drivers and the teams. A highlight was his meeting with Mercedes AMG Petronas driver George Russell, a self-professed tennis enthusiast. The Serb posted photos on Instagram, including one of him posing with Russel holding a Formula 1 steering wheel.

Checkout the picture here:

Andy Murray left a hilarious comment under the Serb's post, that read

"He should be on the practice court."

Screengrab of Andy Murray's comment under the Serb's Instagram post (https://www.instagram.com/p/DC-NGaEtgnL/?img_index=2)

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Novak Djokovic explains why Andy Murray is the "perfect" coach for him

Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray during the 2016 French Open (Image source: Getty)

Novak Djokovic shared why he believes his former rival Andy Murray is the "perfect" coach for him.

In an interview with Sky Sports, Djokovic revealed that after parting ways with Goran Ivanisevic, he spent months considering what he needed at this stage of his career. The Serb wanted a coach who had faced similar challenges and achieved comparable success.

“Well I was going through a process of thinking about next season in the last couple months and trying to figure out basically what I need at this stage of my career ‘cause I stopped with my coach, Goran Ivanesevic with whom I was very successful with and worked for many years, earlier this year in March,” he said.

“So I took about six months to really think about, if I need a coach and if yes who that’s going to be and the profile of the coach. So we’re going through different names and I realised that the perfect coach for me at this point would be someone that has been through the experiences that I’m going through,” he added.

After consulting with his team, Murray stood out as the ideal choice, being a former World No. 1 and Grand Slam champion.

“Possibly a multiple Grand Slam winner and former [World] No.1. I was thinking about different people and then Andy Murray discussion appeared on the table with me and my team. I was like, ‘Okay! I’m gonna give him a call and see how it goes.’ It caught him [Andy Murray] a little bit off guard as well because he wasn’t expecting it,” the Serb continued.

Novak Djokovic revealed that Murray was initially "caught off-guard" by the proposal but eventually agreed to the role.