Best 2025 Novak Djokovic grand slam title tips with Andy Murray to coach former rival

In one of the most jaw-dropping items of tennis news of the last few years, Novak Djokovic appointed Andy Murray as his new coach for the 2025 tennis season.

Let’s take a quick look back: In 1987, Djokovic and Murray were born seven days apart. The two met on a tennis court for the first time in 2001 before first facing each other at a grand slam ten years later – fittingly in the final of the Australian Open. 

In 2012, Murray beat Djokovic in the US Open final to win his first Grand Slam title and in 2016, Djokovic beat Murray in the French Open final to complete his career Grand Slam. 

Other than Djokovic and Nadal, Djokovic and Murray are the only pair that contested the final of each of the four majors, with Djokovic winning five of the seven encounters. Djokovic also won their overall rivalry 25-11. But fast forward to 2025, we’ll see these two tennis giants travel the circuit together.

What does Murray bring to the table for Djokovic?

The news is still hard to believe, but it makes sense for Djokovic to acquire Murray. The Serb has always surrounded himself with great former players in his coaching staff as he always strives for the very best.

We have also learned over time that nothing is impossible when it comes to Novak Djokovic. After winning the Olympic gold medal this summer, Djokovic has now achieved everything in the game. 

To win a 25th major title would always be his next goal, but it has appeared that since his Olympic win, Djokovic hasn’t been 100% motivated. As an all-time great, the 37-year-old can reflect and maybe conclude that this new partnership is exactly what he needs to retain his edge.

Shifting his focus away from the court a bit and being around a childhood friend might be vital for Djokovic moving forward. There will always be good faith with Murray and with that move, Djokovic makes sure that the spotlight will still be on him, even with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz taking over at the top of the sport.

From a tennis standpoint, appointing Murray makes a lot of sense too. As one of his biggest rivals, Murray has studied Djokovic’s game inside out, so he knows precisely where the marginal gains at this stage of his career could be. Djokovic is a perfectionist and needs exactly that.

As players, both Djokovic and Murray are famous for their snappy on-court persona, so it will be fascinating to see how Murray will handle that - given this will be his gig as a coach after quitting tennis in the summer. There are so many details to observe between the two and it will be intriguing how their relationship will evolve as player-coach. 

2025 Australian Open

Djokovic ended his 2024 season over a month earlier than the likes of Sinner and Alcaraz, who will be the two players to beat at major events in the foreseeable future. The 24-time Grand Slam champion withdrew from this year’s ATP Finals to “recharge and refresh a bit after an exhausting year”. As his body was on the brink of breaking down multiple times throughout 2024, that certainly appears the correct decision.

With a new and totally different coach at hand, Djokovic has injected a new voice and presence into the mix to hopefully win at least one more Grand Slam. 

The break at the end of the 2024 season sets him up for a perfectly planned pre-season and he’s already down to compete in the 2025 Brisbane International in the lead up to the Australian Open. 

The addition of Murray will still be shocking and odd for Djokovic’s competitors and Alcaraz even fears the new combo, stating that it would be like “playing against both”. 

At 7/2 with Ladbrokes, we think this is not only Djokovic’s first chance but also his best opportunity to reach 25 major titles in 2025.

2025 French Open

Will Murray still be Djokovic’s coach come French Open? We don’t know yet as the two are only set to work together during the Australian swing. Maybe, by May, Rafael Nadal will have had enough of tennis retirement and appear as Djokovic’s coach, how about that?

In all honesty, even though Djokovic beat Alcaraz at the Olympic final, it will be hard for him to beat these top young guns on clay over the best-of-five sets. 

Should Djokovic even go the Roger Federer route of skipping Roland Garros to fully focus on Wimbledon? 

For those thinking that Djokovic’s body is still invulnerable to all the exhaustion Grand Slam tennis brings along, Ladbrokes have him at 4/1 to win the 2025 French Open.

2025 Wimbledon

We act up even further, shall we? How about Roger Federer as Djokovic’s coach at Wimbledon? As mentioned, nothing is impossible with Novak, but let’s stick to the hard facts first.

After dominating Wimbledon from 2018 to 2022, Djokovic got beaten by Alcaraz twice in a row – this year it was in straight sets. There’s no doubt that Sinner will only get better on grass as well, so the window also closes here for Djokovic. 

The 4/1 on offer with Ladbrokes is surely worth a look, even though we like Sinner better right now, sitting at 9/4 with Mr.Play.

2025 US Open

The more we look into the future, the more unpredictable things are. Will Djokovic’s body still hold on? Who will be his coach come the US Open? What will be his Grand Slam count by then? Will he still be motivated to get more? Is his tennis still good enough to compete? All these questions will come to pass by the time August 2025 rolls around.

While we don’t doubt the latter, it is still a bit surprising to see bookmakers giving Djokovic the best chance of winning a Grand Slam at the US Open. The Serb is 5/2 across the board and you will likely get the same, if not better odds when the tournament finally starts.

However, at this time the value play might actually be to wait and see how his form and fitness endure another turbulent season. 

FIRST’s top tip

Back Djokovic to win the 2025 Australian Open at7/2 with Ladbrokes.

As virtually every tennis fan, we are very intrigued by this decision by Djokovic to appoint ‘coach Murray’. It could couple a renewed feelgood factor with an immense understanding of the sport.

Odds correct at the time of writing.