Martina Navratilova feels Andy Murray will help Novak Djokovic stay positive

Former World No.1 Martina Navratilova believes Andy Murray will help Novak Djokovic stay positive as his chief coach. The Serbian recently appointed Murray as his coach and the Brit would look to get the best out of his former rival.

Meanwhile, Djokovic separated from his former coach Goran Ivanisevic in March 2024 and he has been playing without a coach since then. The current World No. 7 took the tennis world by surprise when he named Murray as his new coach.

“Novak can get really down on himself. He’s been mouthing off at his box, but I don’t think he’ll be doing that to Andy and that’ll help him stay positive when something bad happens and he’ll be so much stronger, mentally, just for that reason. He’ll be on his best behavior,” said former player Martina Navratilova.

Speaking at length to BBC Sport, Murray recalled, “I was playing golf, and we’d been exchanging messages. Novak had messaged me, just wanting to chat. Then I was on the 17th hole of the golf course and the guy I was playing with said: ‘Do you know what’s next?’. I was like: ‘No, not really’. He said: ‘Do you have any plans to do any coaching?’ And I said, ‘Honestly, I can’t think of anything worse to do right now’.”

Navratilova believes Djokovic will look to give his best in the Grand Slams in 2025.

“When somebody like Djokovic asks you, you say yes. But still, I’m surprised that emotionally, he felt ready to get back into the cauldron again,” Navratilova said on Tennis Live. “He put everything into achieving his ultimate goal, which was getting that gold medal. For whatever reason, the Grand Slams didn’t seem as important to Novak in 2024. I think it shifts back to becoming a real focal point for him and his team.”

Djokovic will begin his Australian Open campaign against USA’s Nishesh Basavareddy on Monday.