They immediately found success together, as Djokovic reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open, retiring with an injury against Alexander Zverev.

Djokovic has appeared just once since, losing in the first round of the Qatar Open to Matteo Berrettini, an event Murray chose not to attend.

The pair will be re-united for the year’s first Masters 1000 tournament at Indian Wells, as the Serb searches for a sixth title in California.

Ahead of the 37-year-old’s return to action, his countryman and friend shared his thoughts on Djokovic’s decision to bring Murray in as a coach.

Janko Tipsarevic says Andy Murray was the ‘best possible hire’ for Novak Djokovic above Pete Sampras

Appearing as a guest on The Tennis Podcast, former ATP world number eight, Janko Tipsarevic gave his honest opinion on Murray as a coach.

“When I talk about glorified towel boys and people who are on tour just to pick up balls, 100% Andy Murray does not fall into that category,” he said.

“This has nothing to do with him being the ex-world number one, there are a lot of ex-top players who are s— coaches.

“My description of Andy Murray as a coach has nothing to do with his prior successes as a tennis player, by his character, you can clearly see that he loves the sport.”

Tipsarevic revealed that he spoke to the Brit in Melbourne earlier this year, and was impressed by his attention to detail.

“I spoke with him in Australia and I know him, we played quite a few times on tour, this is somebody who is taking his job extremely seriously, in terms of looking at the tiniest details in terms of what Novak [Djokovic] can do,” he said.

“I think we can say this will be the final quarter of his career, talking about Novak, whether it be two years or four years, I think we can say it’s the final quarter.”

The 40-year-old gave his verdict on the hire, suggesting Murray was the best possible option for Djokovic.

“So I feel from every possible person on tour, this was and I’m not saying this because we were friends, this was the best possible hire Novak could take,” said Tipsarevic.

“I really feel if he is healthy he can have another great season.

“There is nobody better on tour for Novak as a full package, that he knows personally, that he respects, that he knows will give 100% into the job like he is giving in this moment of his career than Murray.

“I am 100% certain of that, he is a way better hire than [Pete] Sampras or some legend like that or a top player or a Grand Slam winner.

“Because in Andy you have everything in one in terms of somebody who knows the feeling of the pressure that Novak needs his coach to know, and he has been playing with the guys that Novak has still been competing against.”

Novak Djokovic’s route to the 2025 Indian Wells title

Djokovic will return to action in California later this week, as he searches for a record-sixth title at Indian Wells.

He’s been handed a tough draw, however, and could potentially face off against world number three Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals.

• F v Alexander Zverev/Casper Ruud
• SF v Taylor Fritz/Andrey Rublev
• QF v Carlos Alcaraz/Grigor Dimitrov
• 4R v Alex de Minaur/Hubert Hurkacz
• 3R v Alejandro Davidovich Fokina/Francisco Cerundolo
• 2R v Botic van de Zandschulp/Nick Kyrgios

Djokovic beat Alcaraz in their most recent encounter at the Australian Open, battling back from a set down to win, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.

The pair have faced off twice before in Masters 1000 tournaments, as Alcaraz beat Djokovic at the 2022 Madrid Open before Djokovic exacted revenge at the Cincinnati Open in 2023.

He won’t want to get too far ahead of himself, however, as he’ll first work hard with Murray to figure out a gameplan worthy of taking down either Botic van de Zandschulp or Nick Kyrgios in the second round.

The Australian star leads the head-to-head with Djokovic, 2-1, but many are concerned he won’t appear at the event after Kyrgios appeared to re-injure his wrist during a practice session ahead of the tournament.

It remains to be seen whether Djokovic will take on Kyrgios or Van de Zandschulp in the second round, but it’ll certainly be worth a watch as the Serb looks to win his 41st Masters 1000 title.