Both former world No 1s, Murray and Djokovic shared a captivating rivalry at the top of men’s tennis across much of the previous decade, facing each other in all four Grand Slam finals – including four in Melbourne alone.

Now, they will join forces as the Serb continues his search for a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam singles title.

Writing on X, Djokovic joked that Murray “never liked retirement anyway.”

“We played each other since we were boys, 25 years of being rivals, of pushing each other beyond our limits,” the ten-time Australian Open champion said.

“We had some of the most epic battles in our sport. 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.”

He never liked retirement anyway. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Ga4UlV2kQW

— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) November 23, 2024

Murray retired from professional tennis at the Olympics in August this year, saying at the time that coaching was a potential future career avenue that interested him.

“I’m going to be joining Novak’s team in the off-season, helping him to prepare for the Australian Open,” Murray said.

“I’m really excited for it and looking forward to spending time on the same side of the net as Novak for a change, helping him to achieve his goals.”

The speed and nature of this appointment may surprise many within the sport, as the first collaboration between tennis’ former ‘Big Four’ comes just months after Murray’s retirement.

However, despite a long-term on-court rivalry, Djokovic and Murray always remained good friends, having known each other from a young age. To that end, given the Scot’s evident interest in coaching, this appointment makes sense.

After a disappointing season – apart from obtaining his career-long goal of an Olympic singles gold medal – Djokovic will be hoping Murray’s expertise and fresh approach can help him secure that elusive 25th Grand Slam title.

It will be fascinating to see how this all plays out.