Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic have decided to end their coaching partnership after just six months.
Murray confirmed that he had left his role as Djokovic’s coach ahead of the French Open, even though the pair had previously planned to continue working together at Roland Garros.
Djokovic, 37, reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open in January with Murray in his corner and he praised the impact of his former rival after his win over Carlos Alcaraz.
But Djokovic has not won a title this season and has struggled for form in recent weeks, suffering a series of early exits at tournaments. The 24-time grand slam champion described his form as a “new reality” last month.
The decision has been described as mutual as Murray thanked Djokovic for the “unbelievable opportunity”.
Djokovic said in a statement released on Tuesday: “Thank you, coach Andy, for all the hard work, fun and support over last six months on and off the court, really enjoyed deepening our friendship together.”
Murray said: “Thanks to Novak for the unbelievable opportunity to work together and thanks to his team for all their hard work over the past six months. I wish Novak all the best for the rest of the season.”
The announcement of the high-profile coaching partnership was a huge shock last year and it came just months after Murray had retired from playing following the Paris Olympics.
Djokovic reached out to his former rival ahead of the Australian Open and a short-term agreement was reached through to the end of the first grand slam of the season.
It brought the best moment of Djokovic’s season so far as he defeated young rival Alcaraz in the Australian Open quarter-finals, before he was forced to retire injured from his semi-final against Alexander Zverev.
Murray and Djokovic agreed to continue working together “indefinitely” at major tournaments and they signalled that extending their partnership through to the end of this summer’s Wimbledon was a possibility.
However, Djokovic has struggled for wins since the Australian Open, with the notable exception of the Miami Open where he reached the final but was denied the 100th title of his career by Czech youngster Jakub Mensik.
Djokovic was left contemplating his “new reality” after losing to Matteo Arnaldi at the Madrid Open, in what was his third defeat in a row. The Serbian then pulled out of this week’s Italian Open in Rome.
And while Djokovic has taken a wildcard to play in Geneva next week, in a bid to improve his form ahead of his bid for a record 25th grand slam singles title in Paris later this month, he will do so without Murray in his box.
