'We’ll do that': Murray plans talks with Djokovic about coaching deal

Andy Murray will discuss with Novak Djokovic whether to continue their partnership after a premature end to the Australian Open.

Djokovic abruptly withdrew at the end of the first set of his semi-final against Alexander Zverev after the pain from a muscle tear in his leg sustained in the victory over Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday became too much.

The old rivals turned team-mates has been one of the big stories of the tournament, and Djokovic gave Murray an emotional embrace following the Alcaraz win.

Djokovic has showered the Scot with praise for his coaching efforts and appears keen to continue the arrangement, but Murray was tight-lipped, saying: “Me and Novak agreed that after the tournament we would speak. We’ll do that.”

Murray knows all too well the pain of trying to fight through injury having battled his body on many occasions through his career and especially in the latter stages following his hip operations.

He has also been on the other end of matches on Rod Laver Arena when Djokovic has experienced physical difficulties only to find a way to win.

“I think he was always going to go out there and give it a good shot,” said Murray. “He obviously didn’t train the last couple of days. He practised right before the match and was feeling good enough to give it a go.

“It was an unfortunate way to finish. The match that he played against Alcaraz was some incredible tennis, amazing to watch from the side from that close, it was an amazing performance. He’d been getting gradually better as the tournament was progressing I think.

“It’s hard. When you get to that stage of the tournament, you feel like you’re getting very close to something very special, and it’s unfortunate if the body’s not responding in the way that you would would like.

“With Novak, there’s always hope because of how great a player he is and he has found ways out of difficult situations before. It just wasn’t to be this time.”

While Djokovic fell short of the record-breaking 25th grand slam title he craves, the win over Alcaraz was a big moment for the 37-year-old and showed he can still hold his own over best-of-five sets against the young guns.

How much of the credit goes to Murray has been a hot topic of discussion, which the three-time grand slam champion admitted has been “a little bit embarrassing”.

He praised the way he has been welcomed by the rest of Djokovic’s entourage, saying: “I feel like they’ve been a great team.

“At times it feels a little bit embarrassing that, because of my relationship with Novak, how much people talk about that, or when there’s a good result or a good performance that it’s because I’ve helped him.

“I’m fully aware that the team that is with him has done an incredible job over many, many years to allow him to still be competing at this level at the age that he’s at.

“They’ve all been really, really helpful to me. They really welcomed me into the team. It’s been great to be a part of. I got to witness some amazing tennis, and one of the best matches that I’ve seen live against Alcaraz.

“And it’s a steep learning curve for me as well. Obviously there’s a lot of things that as a player, things are different when you’re coaching, there’s a lot more that you need to help with in terms of communication around the team.

“You’re not just thinking about yourself like you are when you’re a player. I’ve certainly learned a lot but there’s a lot more still for me to learn, that’s for sure.”