Brad Gilbert gives the key reasons why he thinks Novak Djokovic has hired Andy Murray as his new coach

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Novak Djokovic endured a roller-coaster season in 2024, with inconsistency and injuries unfortunately dominating.

Djokovic will play more tournaments in 2025 as he looks to get back to his best, having failed to win a Grand Slam in 2024.

He did, however, win Olympic gold, but that final victory over Carlos Alcaraz in Paris represented his only title of the season.

Djokovic will be keen to add to that tally as early as possible, with the Serbian aiming to take a major step towards improving by hiring Andy Murray as his new coach.

Murray won’t coach Djokovic at the Brisbane International, but the pair are expected to work together at the Australian Open.

Brad Gilbert says why he thinks Novak Djokovic has hired Andy Murray

It is a match-up that has caused plenty of excitement in the tennis world, both for opponents and fans alike.

And now sharing his verdict is Murray’s former coach Brad Gilbert, who told the ATP Tour website: “I kind of sensed that Novak was going to do something. You didn’t know what he was going to do, but you kind of sensed that he probably needed something, and something to motivate him. And obviously he goes way back with Andy.

READ MORE: Who is Novak Djokovic? Step inside the life of the 24-time Grand Slam champion

“Andy knows a lot about Novak, knows a lot about the players who Novak is going to be chasing. But I think more than anything, where Novak is, you’ve got these two huge, young guys now [Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz] who have just really elevated and I think Novak probably feels like he needs a little bit and I think most importantly, needs that motivation.”

And discussing watching the duo in action, Gilbert added: “The first thing I’ll want to do when I’m in Australia is just go watch Murray and Novak practise. It will be interesting, do they practise together? Is he practising with a practice partner?

“And [I want to see] if I notice anything different early in the first round. As a coach myself and a former player, I’m kind of fascinated seeing if there is something different right away.”

Brad Gilbert gives Andy Murray advice for coaching Novak Djokovic

It really is an intriguing decision from Djokovic to hire Murray, with the pair having been rivals on the court for several years.

But their many meetings mean the players should know each other inside out, which will help both in their new joint venture.

READ MORE: Carlos Alcaraz gives his honest verdict on Novak Djokovic hiring Andy Murray as his coach for 2025

Gilbert meanwhile certainly has experience of being in the Scot’s shoes, having started coaching Andre Agassi in 1994, the same year he retired.

He has now looked back on a key lesson from that partnership, with former world number four Gilbert saying: “You’re the coach, looking through the lens of the player who you’re coaching.

“I was like, ‘I would do X, Y and Z, but Andre plays nothing like me, so I can’t think about what I would do. I have to think about what Andre needed to do’.”