Novak Djokovic has revealed Andy Murray was caught off guard when asked to be his new coach, but feels the link-up can only be good for tennis.

Murray retired after this summer’s Olympics at the age of 37 after finally admitting defeat in his battle against injury. It had been suggested Murray would one day return to tennis and become a coach, due to his love of the sport, hard work and tactical acumen.

However, the unexpected announcement last Saturday that he was to team up with Djokovic, 37, over the winter and through January’s Australian Open in Melbourne caused quite a stir. Djokovic – beaten by Murray in the 2012 US Open final and again at Wimbledon the following year – admitted it was something even he could not have envisaged.

“I was going through a process of thinking about next season in the last couple of months,” Djokovic said to Sky Sports at the Qatar Grand Prix. “I was trying to figure out what I need at this stage of my career, because I stopped with my [former] coach Goran Ivanisevic, who I was very successful with and worked for many years, in March.

“So I took about six months to really think about if I need a coach and, if yes, who that’s going to be and the profile of the coach. We were going through names and I realised that the perfect coach for me at this point would be someone who has been through the experiences I am going through, possibly a multiple grand slam winner, a former [world] number one.

“I was thinking about different people and a discussion about Andy Murray appeared on the table with me and my team. We were like, ‘okay, I’m going to give him a call and see how it goes.’ It caught him a little off guard as well because he wasn’t expecting it.

“We connected really fast and he accepted it after a few days. I can’t be more excited about it.”

Djokovic beat Murray in the 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016 Australian Open finals as well as the French Open final in 2016. “This collaboration is a surprise to me as well, to everyone, but it is exciting for tennis,” Djokovic added.

“He has been one of my greatest rivals. We are the same age, have played in all the biggest stadiums in our sport, so I can’t wait to get out on the court and prepare for next season.”

Djokovic hopes adding Murray to his team will help him get back to the top of the game after he went through a calendar year without winning a grand slam for the first time since 2017.

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have developed a stranglehold at the top of the men’s game and Djokovic – who has seen Murray, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal all retire in recent years – is still hoping to move clear of the record 24 grand slams he shares with Margaret Court.

“I still will try to go strong because I feel like my body is serving me well. I still have motivation to win grand slams, make more history,” Djokovic said. “That’s one of the biggest reasons why I asked Andy to work with me, because I still have big plans, so as long as that’s the case, I will keep going.

“I don’t have any date in my mind or any result after I achieve it potentially that I am going to say goodbye and retire. I will keep going as much as I feel like I can be one of the candidates for the biggest titles in sport.”