Less than four months after retiring, Andy Murray is already heading back out on the tennis tour.
The former world No. 1 is set to coach old rival Novak Djokovic in the off-season and through into the Australian Open.
It will come as good news to Murray’s wife Kim, who told him exactly what she “didn’t want” him doing after ending his playing career.
Murray bowed out at the Olympics over the summer, joining forces with Dan Evans in the men’s doubles event. The two-time gold medallist took his fans on one last rollercoaster ride as he and Evans saved multiple match points to reach the quarter-final before losing.
Immediately after playing his final match, Murray was vague about his future. He joked that he wouldn’t become a journalist and was keen to become a scratch golfer but didn’t give any concrete plans.
The 37-year-old committed to his golf plans – he changed his X (formerly known as Twitter) bio to read: “I played tennis. I now play golf.” He’s been getting lessons and documenting his swings on social media.
Murray will now turn his attention back to tennis as he joins Djokovic’s camp. And his wife will no doubt be glad about his latest career move after claiming she didn’t want to see him do nothing but play golf.
During his appearance at Wentworth for the Celebrity Pro-Am before the BMW PGA in September, the three-time Grand Slam champion said: “I haven’t been to the gym for five weeks.
“I said to my wife, I was like, ‘Look, I’m going to make sure when I stop, I’m going to make sure I stay in good shape.’ And she said: ‘Oh, if you’re just going to go and play golf, I don’t want that’.
“I was, ‘No, no, I’ll get myself in the gym, make sure I stay in shape’. I went to the gym three of the first four days after I stopped, worked really hard, and then went up to Scotland for a couple of days for a holiday, and haven’t been back since.”
Murray has been back on the golf course since his outing at the pro-am, as he picked up a trophy at the inaugural BTJA Mike Dickson Golf Day event, organised in honour of the late Daily Mail journalist Mike Dickson, who passed away in January at the age of 59.
Although it means he will have less time to perfect his golfing skills, Murray is looking forward to joining forces with arguably his biggest rival. “I’m going to be joining Novak’s team in the off season, helping him to prepare for the Australian Open,” he said.
“I’m really excited for it and looking forward to spending time on the same side of the net as Novak for a change, helping him to achieve his goals.”
Djokovic added: “I am excited to have one of my greatest rivals on the same side of the net, as my coach. Looking forward to start of the season and competing in Australia alongside Andy with whom I have shared many exceptional moments on the Australian soil.”
Murray never got his hands on the trophy at the Australian Open – he finished runner-up five times, losing four of those finals to Djokovic. This time, he will be rooting for the Serb so he can finally taste success in Melbourne Park in a different role.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk