Andy Roddick thinks Andy Murray is set to face either excessive praise or unfair blame, depending on how his coaching partnership with Novak Djokovic turns out.
The 2003 US Open champion also argued Djokovic hiring Murray “makes sense in so many ways” because he thinks there are few people who the Serb “respects enough to actually consider their opinions.”
In the first round of the 2025 Australian Open, Djokovic battled back from a set down to beat 19-year-old American Nishesh Basavareddy in four sets, marking the 37-year-old icon’s debut match with Andy Murray as his coach.
Djokovic and Murray, once fierce rivals who clashed in 36 memorable matches, stunned the tennis world in November by announcing their unexpected partnership.
Murray, a three-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1, ended his illustrious playing career at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Meanwhile, Djokovic is chasing a record-breaking 11th Australian Open title and his 25th major overall in Melbourne, where he enters the tournament as the seventh seed.
Former world No. 1 Andy Roddick, who faced Murray 11 times and Djokovic nine times before retiring in 2012, shared a fascinating prediction about their collaboration.
“Here’s what I think is going to happen: If Novak does really well, we’re going to give Andy Murray – who I think has one of the highest tennis IQs ever – too much credit,” the 32-time ATP titlist told Betway. “And if something weird happens, we’re going to give Murray too much blame.
“Novak’s not going to change too much from what has got him to 24 Slams and 10 titles in Australia.
“It’s as simple as this – there are very few people that Novak can sit across from at dinner and talk about tennis and strategy, who understand the moment and what he’s trying to do, and whose brain he respects enough to actually consider their opinions. I think Andy Murray is one of those few, so it makes sense in so many ways.
“The common ground with both is that there was never any stone left unturned. They’re both still extremely curious, despite all their successes. It does help that they’ve known each other for so long.
“I worked with Jimmy Connors and we didn’t know each other before we got together, and while it was a super beneficial relationship, there was this ice-breaking part of it. They can just skip right over that, which is a massive benefit for Novak at this point in his career.
“I’m not ever going to undersell anyone making the semis of a Grand Slam, because I know that’s really hard, but I don’t think Novak is playing for quarter-finals now. He might play great and lose, but he won’t leave saying: ‘Well, we did our best.’
“Having Tomas Machac and Reilly Opelka in his part of the draw is brutal, and with Alcaraz potentially in the quarter-finals it doesn’t get any easier. But as my friend Paul Annacone says, you write the greats off at your own peril.”
Djokovic is set to take on 21-year-old Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria in the second round of the hard-court Grand Slam on Wednesday.
