The appointment of Andy Murray as the coach of Novak Djokovic took the entire tennis world by surprise, including coach Patrick Mouratoglou.

But the Frenchman believes the Scot may have the key to unlocking what Djokovic needs to sustain him as he tries to keep pace with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz at the top of the men’s game, even at the age of 37.

“He’s very smart and I think he might have a smart idea on how to challenge Novak to make him find motivation again,” Mouratoglou says.

Mouratoglou says Djokovic needs motivation to make him do the hard work required to add to his men’s record 23 Grand Slam titles. “He needs to find something to trigger inside himself that will make him want to win as bad as he’s done all his career.”

KEY MOMENTS

• 0:11 – surprised that Djokovic chose Murray
• 0:36 – the relationship between Djokovic and Murray
• 0:45 – “Murray may have a smart idea”
• 0:58 – “The only thing Novak needs is motivation”
• 1:30 – Is Murray the right person to motivate Novak?
• 1.46 – The challenge of taking on Sinner and Alcaraz
• 2.28 – “If Novak chooses Andy, Andy is legit to coach Novak