“I’m excited to have one of my greatest rivals in my team, on the same side of the net, this time as my coach” Novak Djokovic said last month, on November 23, while announcing that longtime friend Andy Murray will be his coach. The 24-time Grand Slam winner will enter 2025’s Australian Open with the former British player on his side. But how well this association will go? According to a legendary ATP pro, seems like there won’t be too many issues to hinder a smooth sailing. And he’s got a solid reason why.

In an episode of Advantage Connors podcast, dated December 6, former World No.1 Jimmy Connors revealed his thoughts on Novak-Murray’s surprise collaboration. His son Brett was curious to know his reaction to this big news. When asked about his honest take, Jimmy said, “I think it enters a comfort zone. You know, that they’ve competed against each other, they know each other’s game, they have spent time together, you know, not only on the court for sure, playing great matches, but maybe also off the court.” Remember, Djokovic had mentioned that knowing Andy for a long time was a key factor in hiring him?

“I’m looking forward to starting the season together with Andy and having him by my side in Melbourne, where we’ve shared many extraordinary moments throughout our careers,” reported his official website on November 23. Expanding on his reasoning for why Djoker and Murray’s pairing might be fruitful, Jimmy added, “there comes a point in time in your later years where, you know, if you feel comfortable and you feel relaxed, that, you know, with the people around you, allows you to go out and to attempt to play your best tennis and give it your all.”

Per Connors, Djokovic has come to a point in his career, where he won’t look to change his style too much. With someone like Murray, who has seen him in all these years, he won’t have to adapt to a different approach. It would have been the case with someone else as his coach. But with Andy, such a problem may not occur. “You know, because, the older you get, you know, it’s tougher to push yourself, you know, to, you know, even though, I mean, you look at Joker, I mean, he does everything, you know, to get himself in prime condition and whatever it takes to be the best,” he added.

Continuing further he said that if Djokovic’s “around somebody that he feels comfortable with now, not that the, those in the past he didn’t feel comfortable with, but as you get older, you know, things change, you know, your mind changes, your outlook changes, your feelings change and all that, that if you can go and be more relaxed going into the tennis, it allows you to play even better.”

Right now, it does appear that Andy Murray being a coach to Novak, might work wonders. Even several other notable figures in the world of tennis think so. Among them is Carlos Alcaraz.

Carlos Alcaraz believes Novak Djokovic-Andy Murray’s partnership will be effective

The four-time Grand Slam winner thinks that Djokovic and Murray’s team-up may bring fruitful results. According to him, Djoker has got the “right coach” in the former British ATP pro. “It’s like I’m going to play against them (two)”, he said hilariously. But he believes this partnership will be a game changer. “It’s going to be incredible for the sport,” he added. But Carlos isn’t the only one thinking this way. Even sports broadcaster and podcast host David Law believes Novak has a solid chance to win his 25th Grand Slam with Murray on his side.

“Well, I tell you what, he will definitely have a hell of a chance now, compared to before the post was made. I don’t think it’s going to make some otherworldly difference to his game, but there will be tweaks. It’s interesting to think back to the Laver Cup a couple of years ago, where I actually remember Novak coaching Andy Murray more than the other way around, which was fascinating,” he said. Former British player Greg Rusedski has also got similar views.

Taking to X, last month, he wrote, “Novak Djokovic coached by Andy Murray is going to be fascinating  to watch the player coach relationship. Andy is a great tactician ,knows all the current player’s strengths & weaknesses.” Do you think Novak Djokovic, bringing Murray as his coach, will make a large impact in his Australian Open campaign? Will he lead him to a record 11th trophy at the event? Let us know in the comments below.