Andy Murray was on the golf course, again, content with his life away from tennis and telling his playing partner that he couldn’t think of “anything worse” than returning to the sport as a coach.

Then, within half an hour, Novak Djokovic was on the phone with an offer: Murray’s long-time rival, and the winner of 24 grand slam titles, was asking him for help, presenting the “unique opportunity” of joining his team for the Australian Open. Murray was shocked, but interested. Within weeks of retiring at the Olympics, the pull of the game was too strong to resist.

With it, Murray and Djokovic’s reunion on the same side of the net has become the box-office draw ahead of the opening grand slam of the year. A combination that at first felt like an April Fool’s joke has become clearer as the Australian Open arrives.

Djokovic has described Murray’s approach to coaching as “meticulous” and “dedicated” and it was all smiles as the former world No 1 led a practice session against young rival Carlos Alcaraz at Melbourne Park this week. According to onlookers, Djokovic and Murray were in constant discussion: the goal of Djokovic lifting a record-extending 11th Australian Open and 25th grand slam by the end of the month is the complete focus of both sides of the partnership.

But, as Murray knows, such pursuits test the limits of physical and emotional endurance, especially at the age of 37. Djokovic’s former coach, the former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic, went through the highs and lows of sitting in the Serbian’s box and being on the receiving end of his frustrations. “He’s not an easy guy, let’s put it this way,” he said after Djokovic won the French Open in 2023. “Especially when something’s not going his way. He keeps you stressed, the stress level is always high. It never goes down.”

Murray, though, understands that as much as anyone, given how he would often snarl and stomp his way through tournaments as a player. He is ready to take whatever tantrums a venting Djokovic may throw at him. “Providing that he’s giving his best effort and trying as hard as he can, I’m absolutely fine with him expressing himself how he wants,” Murray told a group of British reporters in Melbourne. Murray argued that he would be more alarmed if Djokovic was subdued or “flat”, and believes the fire is required to maintain a balance.

Especially now. In 2024, Djokovic’s gold medal at the Olympics, where he defeated Alcaraz in an epic final at Roland Garros, was arguably the moment of the tennis season. And yet, it was also really his only moment of the year, in a campaign where the most successful men’s player of all time was limited to only one title and saw Jannik Sinner and Alcaraz split the grand slams. The retirements of Murray at the Olympics and Rafael Nadal left Djokovic as the sole representative of the sport’s greatest era, with his two young rivals growing ever stronger.

After the Olympics, it was tempting to wonder if Djokovic was starting to wind down: he played just one more tournament after a shock defeat to Alexei Popyrin in the third round of the US Open and ended his season by withdrawing from the ATP Finals due to injury. But appointing Murray to his team signals Djokovic’s intent. He needed something, and in Murray he has found a way to make the upcoming season fresh and a little bit different. “He has a unique perspective on my game as one of the greatest rivals that I’ve had,” Djokovic said.

Murray knows his strengths and weaknesses, and now gets another work on exploiting the games of the best players in the world with his celebrated tactical mind. Djokovic’s road to the Australian Open title is treacherous: he could face Alcaraz in the quarter-finals and may then need to beat world No 2 Alexander Zverev to even have a shot at defending champion Sinner. Djokovic’s performance in the Olympics final showed that he is still capable of rising to the occasion – but he is now four months from his 38th birthday. This is also a test of historic proportions, as he is bidding to become the oldest grand slam champion ever.

Could one last title be on the table? The competition, over best-of-five sets, is surely too strong. Sinner, 23, will embark on his first grand slam defence, as he returns to the tournament that changed everything last January after one of the most dominant seasons of all time. Alcaraz, 21, begins his first bid at completing the career grand slam. The allure of a first Alcaraz-Sinner grand slam final awaits, but Djokovic has ensured the attention remains on him. With Murray in his corner, that’s exactly how he likes it.