Novak Djokovic’s decision to bring on Andy Murray as his coach sent the tennis world into a spin, but the choice may be exactly what he needs.

Murray retired following the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and later announced he would be joining the 24-time Grand Slam champion in a coaching role

The new role for the 37-year-old came as a surprise to many, given Djokovic had defeated Murray in 69 per cent of meetings.

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Murray is set to make his coaching debut with Djokovic on Australian soil in January, when the former world no.1 takes centre stage at the Brisbane International.

The Serbian will then go on to chase his 25th grand slam title at the Australian Open.

While the pairing seems strange to some, Australian tennis great Todd Woodbridge believes it is one Djokovic will benefit from.

“It’s intriguing. Andy Murray for me is this generation’s Lleyton Hewitt, and Ken Rosewell before him,” he said per The Sydney Morning Herald.

“And I say that because they just live, eat, breathe tennis. Andy can’t keep away from it.

“Andy played everyone that Novak is going to be playing against. So, they’ll be drawing up strategy, game plan, tactics, and what they’ve got to do is find ways for Novak to win matches really quickly, succinctly, keeping energy in the tank, and I think that’s part of the reason he’s been brought along.

“But, you know, there’s one more [reason], which is very obvious, and that’s that Novak has had people around him in his last two coaching roles that have been there, done it – that’s Boris Becker and Goran Ivanisevic.

“It is impossible to hire someone to come in and tell him things, when he’s already done more than they have. And Andy is on a parallel [with] him.”

Despite the differences between the pairs success against each other on the court, Woodbridge noted that Murray has came out on top in events that Djokovic is still a threat in.

“Yes, he’s won more majors, but Andy’s won Olympics, he’s won Wimbledon, he’s won the US Open, he’s been to a final and lost to Novak,” he said.

“He’s one player that he’ll respect if Andy calls him out and says, ‘hey, we need to work on this.’ And that’s got to be why he’s in the team.”

The 2024 season included a mixed bag of results for Djokovic but his recent run will be of little concern when he takes to the court in pursuit of his 11th Australian Open title.

“He [Djokovic] didn’t have the year he wanted, and I think he had come off his level slight,” Woodbridge said.

“But the others still have to play at their best and when he’s there, he’s always a threat.

“He’s currently in the top three for me to win the Australian Open – that goes [Jannik] Sinner, [Carlos] Alcaraz and Djokovic.”

All the action of the Australian Open will begin on January 12, 2025.