Andy Murray has arrived in Melbourne to help Novak Djokovic with his Australian Open preparations.
Just months after retiring, the Brit is back on the tour as a coach, working with his biggest rival.
Murray got a chance to practice with Djokovic on the hallowed courts of Melbourne Park but he made a sad complaint after hitting a few balls.
Murray and Djokovic rocked the tennis world when they announced their new partnership at the end of November. The newly-retired star spent 10 days with Djokovic during the pre-season and has now travelled Down Under for the Australian Open.
The three-time Major winner was seen on the court with Djokovic for the first time on Tuesday and watched on as the world No. 7 hit with Carlos Alcaraz. But Murray also had a chance to test out his skills.
According to The First Serve, Murray spent part of the practice session serving into the edge of the court and hitting shadow backhands. But even that took its toll, as he complained of shoulder pain.
It’s a sad reminder that retirement has already had its effect on Murray, who lost around five kilograms of weight in the first month after ending his career.
But that won’t stop him from getting back on the court ahead of the Australian Open. The former world No. 1 has signed up to join the annual ‘A Night with Novak’ exhibition at Melbourne Park.
Murray will get involved in a high-profile mixed doubles match with fellow Olympic champions Djokovic and Qinwen Zheng.
At the end of the night, Murray and Djokovic will join forces with Tokito Oda and Dylan Alcott for a Paralympic tennis challenge.
But then it will be straight back to work for the former rivals. Djokovic has his sights set on winning a record 25th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.
He didn’t win any Major titles last year – his first season without a Slam since 2017 – and is hungry to change that in 2025, and Murray could be the man to help him do it.
The pair have already been back out on the practice court together, this time with Jack Draper. The British No. 1 got to spar with Djokovic as Murray watched on in the corner.
There have already been promising signs for Djokovic in his pre-tournament training sessions with Murray. He won practice sets against both Alcaraz and Draper, and will hope to bring that level into the tournament come Sunday.
