Coach Brad Gilbert says he still perfectly remembers when a young Andy Murray very directly identified Novak Djokovic as the player who was giving him the most trouble on the court and underlined that no one else mattered.
When the Briton was just starting his pro journey, he hired Andre Agassi’s ex-coach long-time coach and that’s how he and the American ended up working between 2006 July and 2007 November.
After being added to the team, Gilbert went through some basics with Murray and that included wanting to know if there was a matchup he didn’t like at all. That’s when the now-British tennis legend instantly pointed out to Djokovic.
“I remember him saying, ‘None of those guys matter, it’s only Novak,’” the American coach told the ATP website.
Before Gilbert was brought in, Murray had lost to the Serb at the 2006 Madrid Masters. While it was their first meeting on the ATP Tour, it absolutely wasn’t the first time that they clashed against each other – they were competing against each other since their junior days. So by the time they became pros, they already knew each other very well and had many battles between them.
While the Briton was working with the American coach, he was beaten by Djokovic twice. Ultimately, he finished with 11 wins and 25 losses against the Serb.
Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic© YouTube screenshot
Gilbert on the Murray – Djokovic partnership
After being one of the biggest rivals and creating one of the best tennis rivalries in the 21st century, the former two-time Wimbledon champion and the record 24-time Grand Slam winner are now set to work together.
When the news broke out about their collaboration, many were excited but also had some questions. In the past, Djokovic worked with coaches with prior experience – and even when he hired Boris Becker and Goran Ivanisevic – they were two former players who had been well-retired.
This time, the 37-year-old took a completely different approach. And Gilbert isn’t really surprised because he had a feeling that the Serb would try to do something differently and see if that helps him challenge better Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz next year.
“I kind of sensed that Novak was going to do something. You didn’t know what he was going to do, but you kind of sensed that he probably needed something, and something to motivate him. And obviously he goes way back with Andy. Andy knows a lot about Novak, knows a lot about the players who Novak is going to be chasing. But I think more than anything, where Novak is, you’ve got these two huge, young guys now [Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz] who have just really elevated and I think Novak probably feels like he needs a little bit and I think most importantly, needs that motivation,” the American added.
Gilbert on what to look out for early in the Djokovic and Murray collaboration
Right now, it is still early to give any definitive statements about what may or not happen. But when the public gets to see their practices and the Serb’s first matches in 2025, that’s when some questions might be answered.
“The first thing I’ll want to do when I’m in Australia is just go watch Murray and Novak practice. It will be interesting, do they practice together? Is he practising with a practice partner? And [I want to see] if I notice anything different early in the first round. As a coach myself and a former player, I’m kind of fascinated seeing if there is something different right away,” Gilbert explained.
Meanwhile, Djokovic himself admitted that he needed something different time. In this case, it was adding someone who was in his position and could understand him.
“I was going through a process of thinking about next season in the past couple of months and figuring out what I needed as I stopped with my coach Goran Ivanisevic, who I was successful with. I took about six months to think if I really needed a coach and if yes, who is that going to be and the profile of the coach,” Djokovic told Sky Sports.
“We were going through different names and I realized at this point the perfect coach would be someone who has been through the experiences I have been through. A multiple Grand Slam winner and I was thinking about a few and the Andy Murray discussion appeared on the table with my team. I decided I would give him a call and see how it goes. It caught him off guard a little bit as he wasn’t expecting it.”
Some reports indicated that Murray would not join Djokovic in Brisbane and that their partnership would officially start at the Australian Open.
Tennis World USA