Back in 2011, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic were once part of one of the most iconic points of all time at the Miami Masters – but they weren’t on opposite sides of the court.
For a one-off, Murray and Djokovic actually entered as a doubles pairing in Miami.
At the time, Murray wasn’t in his best form. He had just lost a second-round tie against Alex Bogomolov Jr and was broken seven times in the process, and was struggling with his own game.
Of course, Murray is now coaching 37-year-old Djokovic today, who heads into this year’s Miami Open having lost his last three matches on the ATP Tour.
Murray was spotted working on a specific shot with Djokovic ahead of tennis commencing in Miami, where the Serbian will be hoping to find some form.
Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic’s unsuccessful debut as a doubles pairing
That being said, Murray and Djokovic weren’t the most successful pairing when they did play on the same side of the court back in 2011.
The duo went up against Sergiy Stakhovsky and Mikhail Youzhny in their last-32 clash which eventually put a swift end to Murray’s participation in Miami that year.
Murray and Djokovic lost 5-7, 6-3, 10-8, and the Scot actually left his partner on the floor after missing a backhand volley at the net during the deciding set tiebreak.
The duo were 7-5 up in the tiebreak at the time, but luckily Djokovic was able to see the funny side of Murray’s miss.
Fortunately for Murray, he did enjoy a bit more success when he partnered with the likes of Laura Robson and Dan Evans later in his career – featuring alongside both at the Olympics, albeit 12 years apart.
Murray scooped the silver medal playing doubles with Robson at the London Olympics and had a great run with Evans in Paris just before retiring.
How Djokovic and Murray went from rivals to doubles partners
Speaking ahead of their doubles match in Miami back in 2011, Djokovic spoke to the Independent about how he and Murray became closer again, two players who were more used to being fierce rivals at that point.
Djokovic said: “We didn’t see so much of each other for a while, but in the last 12 months we’ve grown closer again.
“I feel that Andy’s more relaxed now, both on and off the court. He’s surrounded by a great team. We all get along really well – his team and my team.
“We get to practise, we even get to play football together, like we did in Australia. It’s good.
“Sometimes we catch up for dinner. It’s good to see somebody you grew up with doing so well in professional tennis and it’s great to show to people that top-five players, who are big rivals on the court, can be really good friends as well.”
And whilst Murray doesn’t miss playing tennis, perhaps he would like another go at that volley in the pair’s third-set tiebreak.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
