"It's still surreal": Novak Djokovic opens up about how it is to work with coach Andy Murray

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic has opened up about his experience of working with former world number one Andy Murray as his coach. The 37-year-old is regarded as the greatest player in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category in the Open era, having won as many as 24 Grand Slam titles.

Djokovic surprised everyone last year when he announced Murray as his coach. The news came as a major shock as the Glasgow-born star as the Glasgow-born tennis star retired from professional tennis last year after taking part in the Paris Olympics.

Djokovic is currently playing in the Miami Open, where he cemented his spot in the quarterfinals after beating Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-2. Talking after the match, the Belgrade-born tennis star opened up about how it is to work with a player who defeated him in two Grand Slam finals. Djokovic stated that it still feels ‘surreal’.

"We shared the same stage, so to say, and were on the tour for a very long time and know each other for 20-25 years since the junior days," said Djokovic. "But obviously when you're rivals you don't interact as much and actually as we were waiting for matches to restart after the rain today we had a very interesting talk. I've always had tremendous respect for Andy, as a player, but now even more so as a person. He's such a nice guy and I'm really grateful he cares about me doing well on the court. It's still surreal that one of my biggest rivals is my coach, and he's fist-bumping and jumping around in the box. Sometimes I pinch myself and ask myself 'is this real? Is this a dream?' but it's great. We're trying to get the most out of this relationship of player and coach and also to spend some quality time together. Miami has been good. We were here early, almost a week before the tournament started. We played some golf, we enjoyed some dinners together and we're having fun."