On Saturday, 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic announced that former ATP pro Andy Murray will be his new head coach. Although Novak won the Olympics Gold medal in 2024, a major portion of his season has been a roller coaster. He failed to win any ATP title, let alone winning a Grand Slam trophy. Plus, his injuries kept him away from action on most of the occasions. But now, he’s looking to regain the momentum with Murray by his side to help him navigate his professional journey going forward. While this partnership is looking promising, a former ATP pro and Serena Williams’ childhood coach believes Djokovic should have done a self introspection from within before actually seeking a helping hand.

For those unaware, Djokovic has been without a main coach for nearly eight months now. He parted ways with former coach Goran Ivanisevic earlier this year in March. But now he’s found Andy Murray to be a fitting candidate for the role of his new trainer. “I am excited to have one of my greatest rivals on the same side of the net, as my coach. Looking forward to start of the season and competing in Australia alongside Andy, with whom I have shared many exceptional moments on Australian soil,” he said, as reported by his official website. While reacting to this huge update, former American pro and Serena Williams’ childhood trainer Rick Macci shared his own perspective. “Was asked if Andy Murray coaching the Joker will make a difference in his game next year. A different voice is always good. A different set of eyes is always good. But who can help him the most is Mr. MIRROR. @DjokerNole”, he wrote on his X post, dated November 24th.

Macci admired Novak’s decision to have a different individual with a different vision to guide him. But he also tried to imply that Novak should have analyzed his own flaws, his weak and strong points as a player before hiring someone else. In other words, a self realization of himself is something he should have focused on. Maybe that would have been more crucial to understand what he’s lacking as a sportsperson at this stage in his career.

Meanwhile, Novak is just setting his sights straight on the next season. After suffering from injuries, his only goal is to come back and win the trophy at the Australia Open.

Novak Djokovic eyeing his 11th Australian Open title

Injuries and Djokovic went hand-in-hand in 2024. Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t stay on the court for a longer duration. He had to withdraw his name from the French Open earlier this year due to a torn meniscus in his knee. He then tried to keep himself afloat with a surgery and managed to reach the Wimbledon final. But he was visibly not unewell. Despite his pain, he battled his way through the Paris Olympics, back in August, and won the Gold medal. However, his journey since then has been underwhelming to say the least. He was eliminated in the US Open. His last appearance was in the Shanghai Masters final, in mid-October, where he lost against Jannik Sinner in straight sets in the final. He then skipped the Rolex Paris Masters and decided to stay away from the season finale in Turin as well due to persistent injury woes.

But being Djokovic, he knows that he can always deliver his best no matter what. He’s working on his timely recovery right now in order to enter the Australian Open next year. “Tennis is still my focus! I am going at full throttle in the off-season. We go for another ride. I just needed to recharge and refresh a bit after an exhausting year,” said the former World No.1, as reported by Tennis Majors on November 8th. For those unaware, he’s won the event 10 times so far!

His intention is very clear when it comes to the first Major event of 2025 – to push the overall Grand Slam tally to 25 and add the 11th Australian Open trophy to his cabinet. “I am going to play in the first week of the season. I am just not sure yet where. Then, of course, Australian Open,” he concluded. Do you think Djoker will make an epic return in the new year? Let us know in the comments below.