Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic joining forces has to be the ultimate compilation in tennis. The arch-rivals did the unthinkable years after regularly battling on the court as they announced their coaching alliance. With the Serb determined to lift his Grand Slam drought from this year, insiders have seemingly dug intriguing information about the Brit’s surprise decision. Turns out, Murray rejected a pile of players and only chose to bring the Serbian superstar under his tutelage.

The duo started testing each other’s skills when they were boys and went to face each other 36 times on the tour. Ultimately, Djokovic held a 25-11 advantage against the Briton, outclassing him for the Australian Open title five times in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2016. Ahead of commencing their newfound team up in Melbourne, Nole aired the update for fans saying, “I thought our story may be over. Turns out it has one final chapter. It’s time for one of my toughest opponents to step into my corner. Welcome on board, coach Andy Murray.”

Seeing as Murray hardly hesitated to ally with the Serb after expressing his desire to return as a spectator in the player’s box during his Wimbledon farewell this year, Andy Roddick revealed that the former World No. 1 rejected a heap of coaching offers from top WTA and ATP players before embarking on this new journey. “And by the way, I have also heard, this is not my business to tell, top players, male, female, Murray has said no to many,” said Roddick during November 26th episode of the ‘Served’ podcast. The American journalist and author, Jon Wertheim, second this!

He said, “I’ve heard the same thing. This is not the first player that’s reached out to Murray. And Murray’s family unit said you are going to regret it if you don’t do this…People very close to Murray essentially said, ‘We know you too well. We know you are going to regret it if you say no to this. Go ahead and do it and see how it goes’.

Roddick concluded the discussion, saying, “The other people that were asking were on the top of the pile too, right? Like they were high ranks, men and women, from what I’ve heard.” American sensation Roddick has covered a ton of bases while assessing Djokovic’s chances in 2025 following the introduction of a ‘tactical genius’ in his team. Moreover, the same show, Wertheim issued a stern warning to the Serb’s rivals ahead of the Melbourne Slam.

Wertheim believes that Novak Djokovic has declared ‘An Act of War’ against rivals like Jannik Sinner

Not everyone is privy to partake in a partnership where both individuals have a deep knowledge about the other’s game, their weaknesses, ins and outs. With Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray coming together to birth a new chapter, Wertheim believes that this might prove detrimental to the Serb’s young opponents, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who have dominated the tour-level events in 2024.

During the same episode on his podcast, Jon Wertheim said: “I saw the announcement, and at first you sort of chuckle and say, oh, this is fun, maybe it’s a bit of a publicity stunt. Then I got a text from someone who was a former player of Repute who said, don’t you, this is an act of war. This is Novak saying basically, I’ve still got something in me and I’m not done going down to the basement and tinkering.”

After losing to Sinner in the summit clash of the Shanghai Masters and later, skipping the season-ending ATP Finals, Djokovic has earned plenty of time to recover and prepare for the coming season with his new coach and try exercising new tactics that might prove effective against his Australian Open contestants.