Judy Murray makes feelings clear on Andy's new job with Novak Djokovic

Judy Murray has made her feelings clear on her son Andy's return to tennis as a coach to Novak Djokovic.

The 37-year-old stunned the sporting world last month when he announced he had agreed to team up with his former rival as part of his coaching set-up for the Australian Open in January.

The two men shared a fierce rivalry on the court having first started competing against each other as children, but have a combined 145 singles titles between them to date. While Murray lost four of his five finals at the Australian Open, he will now be helping Djokovic to win an 11th trophy in Melbourne in the new year.

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Announcing the news last month, Djokovic jokingly remarked that Murray "never liked retirement anyway," as he added: "We played each other since we were boys, 25 years of being rivals, of pushing each other beyond our limits. We had some of the most epic battles in our sport. It’s time for one of my toughest opponents to step into my corner."

Meanwhile, Murray 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."

At the time, the tennis ace's mother Judy responded to the announcement with a popcorn emoji. But she has now shared how she really feels about the new partnership, admitting that it will "be a first" for her.

“I’ve got to support Novak now," she told the Herald. "That’ll be a first. I mean that in the nicest way, of course.

“They’re different characters. The first time I saw Novak was when they were playing in an under-12 competition in France. So, they’re part of each other’s furniture and they know each other really well on and off the court.”

Djokovic and Murray faced other 36 times during their professional career, with 10 of those match-ups coming in Grand Slams. The Serbian star won the majority of their head-to-heads (25-11) and was 8-2 when it comes to Grand Slams, although Murray was triumphant over his rival in the 2012 US Open final and again in the final at Wimbledon the following year.