Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray to continue together until at least French Open

Andy Murray will continue to coach Novak Djokovic through to the French Open — and the duo haven’t ruled out continuing their partnership through until Wimbledon.

Speaking in Doha ahead of his return to tennis at the Qatar Open, Djokovic said the Scot has agreed to continue his coaching tenure with him, which began in the build-up to last month’s Australian Open and proved a success in Melbourne.

The 24-time grand slam champion said the collaboration was “indefinite”, opening the possibility of the former rivals also linking up at Wimbledon this winter.

Djokovic’s Melbourne campaign ended when he had to retire injured in the semi-final against Alexander Zverev.

Afterwards, the 37-year-old said he and Murray would “cool off” before deciding whether to continue together.

“We had a chat the day after I finished the tournament and we reflected on the period we spent together,” Djokovic told the ATP Tour’s media channel.

“We agreed he was going to take some time and think, speak with his family members and see if he decides to keep working.

“I expressed my desire to continue the collaboration with him so I am really glad he did accept.

“It is indefinite in terms of how long we are going to work together, but we agreed most likely in the States and some clay-court tournaments. We will see how it goes after that.”

Djokovic is now over his leg injury, but his comeback tournament in Doha did not go to plan, with the Serb suffering a shock first-round loss.

The 37-year-old got knocked out by the ever dangerous Matteo Berrettini 7-6 (7-4), 6-2.

Djokovic below his sharpest in his first singles match since the Australian Open as Berrettini, who the Serb beat in the 2021 Wimbledon final, enjoyed one of his most inspired days.

“I didn’t have any pain or discomfort, I was outplayed by just a better player today,” shrugged Djokovic.

“I wasn’t at my desired level, and it could be that I’m still not moving the way I want to move, but, I mean, I played without pain, so there is no excuse.

“He was just the better player. I think he played a masterclass match, to be honest.”

Meantime, Alex de Minaur enjoyed a belated birthday present by battling into the last-16 of the same tournament with a straight-sets victory over stubborn Russian Roman Safiullin.

Australia’s No.1 had spent his 26th birthday on Monday on the practice courts at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex in Doha, and emerged in sharp mood the day after as he wore down some late resistance from the former Wimbledon quarter-finalist Safiullin to triumph 6-1, 7-5.

In difficult, blustery conditions, it was an ideal start for de Minaur, who’s been handed a pretty kind early draw in his latest quest to win an ATP 500 tournament after being beaten in the final in Rotterdam by Carlos Alcaraz nine days earlier.

De Minaur’s record in the high-level 500 events has been exceptional since the start of 2023. Indeed, no player’s won more than his 34 matches over the last three years, which featured two title triumphs in Acapulco.

But the ATP schedule this year has prompted de Minaur to take the “no-brainer” option of seeking huge ranking points on offer in three straight 500 tournaments in Rotterdam, Qatar and Dubai, rather than go for a hat-trick of Mexico triumphs.

The Australian’s tour-leading 12th victory of the year turned out to be slightly harder work than he’d expected in the cool, humid and windy conditions.

“Oh man, they’re tough days, these ones,” smiled de Minaur.

“It’s cold, it’s windy, you don’t really want to get out of bed, but once you step out on court, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to win, whether it’s ugly tennis or pretty tennis.

“It was swirling wind, it wasn’t constant, so it made it quite difficult to play and feel comfortable out there. So out went any sort of tactics you had for the match and it was all about surviving more than anything.”