Andy Murray’s new coaching gig guiding Novak Djokovic is nothing but an attempt “to grasp at something that no longer exists.”

And the farewell afforded to Murray and “bald” and “old” Spain legend Rafael Nadal was a “circus.”

That’s the view of Alexander Bublik, the world No.33 from Kazakhstan, who had a wide-ranging interview with Russian outlet Match.tv that touched on several topics that grabbed headlines in the tennis world in 2024.

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Chief among them was former adversaries Murray and Djokovic teaming up for the 2025 season.

Murray, a three-time grand slam winner and two-time Olympic gold medallist, retired at the 2024 Olympics in Paris following a wretched run with injury.

Djokovic and Murray had just 10 days of court time together, before Djokovic lost to American Reilly Opelka in the quarter-finals in Brisbane. Murray was not in attendance.

Ahead of Djokovic’s 2025 Melbourne campaign and first with Murray, Bublik was not shy in expressing his views on the newly found partnership.

“Now [Murray] has joined Novak Djokovic’s team,” Bublik said. “These are attempts to grasp at something that no longer exists, to some echoes of the past. I think this is a problem.”

Nadal also retired in 2024 at the Davis Cup finals to much fanfare and emotion in front of a sold-out home crowd.

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“It is clear that I am not Rafa, my legacy will be much smaller, if it can be called such,” Bublik said. “What happened to Andy Murray and Rafa was a circus.

“I can’t call it anything else. People have achieved everything, even we tennis players looked at them with our mouths open in the locker room – and then you see one of them bald and old.

“It is clear that he is no longer the same and will never be the same. In my opinion, this is even a shame, not a circus. Probably, it would be more correct to say so. Although Rafa still left normally.”

In the lead up to the Australian summer of tennis, Djokovic admitted it was “strange” to be on the same team as Murray having battled each other for many years.

Djokovic beat Murray on all five occasions the pair met at the Australian Open and now will join forces with the Serb in his attempt to grab his 25th grand slam title.

“Being on the same side of the net is actually great for a change because he’s been one of my greatest rivals,” Djokovic said.

“In a way it was strange for me to share all these kinds of insights about how I feel on the court, sharing some of the secrets of what I’m going through, what I’m thinking about, how I see my game with somebody that has been always one of the top rivals.

“But I’m so glad and very thankful that he has accepted to work with me here in Australia.

“He has a unique perspective on my game as one of the greatest rivals that I’ve had. He knows the pros and cons of my game.

“He has also played up to recently on the Tour, so he knows all the other best players currently in the world, the youngsters and the weaknesses and strengths in their game. So I look forward to it, I really do.

“I think he’s bringing a fresh look to my game and I think I’ll be able to benefit from that, no doubt, on the tennis court. But also that kind of champion’s mentality that he has, I’m sure that we’ll match very well.”

Murray and Djokovic will decide after the Australian Open if the two will continue to work together, with the Melbourne Park campaign a trial of sorts for the two former rivals.