Jim Courier suggests Novak may have been looking for “a spark” ahead of the French Open and Wimbledon and figured out that ditching coach Andy Murray could help him in his goal.
On Tuesday morning European time, the record 24-time Grand Slam champion announced he and the British tennis legend were ending their partnership after six months.
Addressing it on Tennis Channel, Jim Courier said that “the biggest surprise” in the collaboration was the two getting together in the first place. Further, the American tennis legend noted that the experiment worked pretty well in its early stages since Djokovic beat Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open quarterfinal and it looked like the Briton’s presence helped. But then, a very unfortunate hamstring injury happened and it hasn’t been easy for the Serb since.
Courier: Maybe Djokovic felt like he needed another trigger for the next two Slams
“The clay court season hasn’t been what either Murray or Novak would’ve wanted. I don’t know what’s exactly going on. Where does this leave Novak now? Did he ever really need a coach? No. Did he need motivation? Does this provide a spark now? If you’re him you just have to be looking for motivation because it seems like his health is where it needs to be, his tennis is not where he wants it to be. Maybe he felt like he needed another trigger to get ready for this next run of Roland Garros and Wimbledon, when it matters the most,” the former four-time Grand Slam champion added on Tennis Channel.
After splitting with Goran Ivanisevic in the spring of 2024, Novak Djokovic didn’t have a full-time coach for the rest of 2025. And when the Serb added Murray to his team, the general belief was that he deliberately went for something different and unconventional at this stage of his career.
Unfortunately, the experiment didn’t work out well for Novak, who is on a three-match losing streak ahead of the French Open.