Dream partnership over: Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray part ways after just six months

The partnership between Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and former world number one Andy Murray ended after just six months. The two started working last year, soon after the three-time Grand Slam winner retired from professional tennis after representing his country in the Paris Olympics. Their partnership, however, did not go as planned.

According to Sky Sports, the two superstars decided to end their partnership after just six months. In the report, the former world number one Djokovic thanked now his former coach and stated that he ‘really enjoyed’ spending time with his former rival. "Thank you, coach Andy, for all the hard work, fun and support over last six months on and off the court. Really enjoyed deepening our friendship together," said Djokovic. "Thanks to Novak for the unbelievable opportunity to work together and thanks to his team for all their hard work over the past six months. I wish Novak all the best for the rest of the season,” was the response of Murray.

The obvious reason behind the breakup has been Djokovic’s poor form lately. The 37-year-old, who 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, is going through a lean patch. This season, Djokovic has featured in seven different competitions but has only managed to qualify for the finals on one occasion, which was the Miami Open, where he lost to the Czech Republic’s Jakub Mensik in straight sets.

Other than that, the Belgrade-born star suffered defeat in his first match of the competition on four occasions and only managed to get to the quarterfinals stage three times. His most recent outing was at the Madrid Open, where he was knocked out after losing to Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-4.