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Former world No 12 and Madrid Open tournament director Feliciano Lopez has questioned why “innocent” Jannik Sinner is serving a three-month doping ban.

World No 1 Sinner is currently serving a three-month suspension after twice testing positive for banned steroid clostebol in March 2024.

The three-time Grand Slam champion settled with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in February 2025, agreeing to a three-month ban, spanning from February 4th to May 4th 2025.

That came after WADA appealed the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s decision to hand Sinner no suspension after finding him to be of “no fault” in its ruling, which was announced in August 2024.

Sinner successfully argued that he had accidently been contaminated by a team member and, while WADA did not contest this, they did challenge the severity of the 23-year-old’s sanction.

The case was set to be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in April 2025 before a settlement was reached between the two parties.

Sinner’s case has proven to be hugely divisive, but he has received significant support from Lopez, who oversees the combined ATP and WTA 1000 event in Madrid.

The World No 1 will miss the event due to his suspension, with the Italian not set to return until the week after action concludes in the Spanish capital.

Speaking to Marca, the former world No 12 offered a strong defence of Sinner and admitted he did not “understand” why Sinner had ultimately been handed a suspension.

“I have said from the beginning that I believe he is innocent,” said Lopez.

“He has proven that he is not responsible for his positive test. In that sense, I do not understand why he should be out of action for three months.

“I can understand why people say that he is the one ultimately responsible for his career, but it seems to me that if a player is innocent and has not cheated in any way to improve his performance, he should not be banned for a single day.

“I respect all opinions, but that is mine – and I think that the sooner he returns, the better.”

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The Madrid Open is one of four Masters 1000 events Sinner will miss due to his suspension, starting with action in Indian Wells this fortnight.

That will be followed by the Miami Open, where the world No 1 is set to drop 1,000 ranking points after lifting the title last March.

Sinner will then miss both the Monte Carlo Masters and the Madrid Open on clay before returning to action on home soil at the Italian Open in Rome.

Main draw action in the Italian capital begins on May 7th, three days after the 23-year-old’s ban comes to an end.

He has never made it past the quarter-final of his home event in Rome and withdrew from last year’s tournament due to injury.

After the conclusion of the Italian Open, he will then be clear to compete at the French Open – the second Grand Slam tournament of 2025.

Sinner has won three of the last five Grand Slam tournaments and reached the last four in 2024, falling to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in five sets.

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The post ‘Innocent’ Jannik Sinner defended by former No 12 amid doping suspension appeared first on Tennis365.

Novak Djokovic has been warned that he cannot “cheat time” and avoid his “tennis death” by former ATP Tour star Dmitry Tursunov.

Djokovic has so far faced a mixed 2025 season, beating Carlos Alcaraz in a memorable Australian Open quarter-final victory before retiring injured against Alexander Zverev in the last four.

That was the fifth straight Grand Slam tournament not won by Djokovic, and 2024 proved to be the first season since 2017 that the Serbian did not lift at least one major title.

The Serbian was then beaten 7-6(4), 6-2 by Matteo Berrettini at the Qatar Open last month – his first, and to date only, match since his Australian Open exit.

Dealing with injury issues has proven a significant challenge for Djokovic over the past year, and things are unlikely to get any easier for the 24-time Grand Slam champion, with his 38th birthday looming in May.

Now, the former world No 1 has been warned that the end of his career could be coming sooner rather than later.

Speaking to SportKlub, former world No 20 Tursunov – a past coach of Emma Raducanu and Aryna Sabalenka, among others – claimed that Djokovic’s toughest “opponent” was now his body.

“His own body is now his greatest opponent,” said Tursunov. “No matter how he plans to cheat time, ‘tennis death’ will await him.

“Of course, he still has the motivation to play at the highest level, but in tennis, you lose the feeling of immortality much faster than in other sports. Previous achievements are quickly forgotten.”

Djokovic starts his Indian Wells campaign on Saturday against Botic van de Zandschulp, who progressed to round two after Nick Kyrgios retired injured in their opening-round match.

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Van de Zandschulp famously defeated Alcaraz at the US Open in 2024, though Djokovic is still a significant favourite to win their second-round contest in the desert.

However, Tursunov believes the 37-year-old could struggle should he go on to face world No 3 and second seed Alcaraz in their projected quarter-final.

Djokovic defeated the Spaniard in their last two meetings, at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and 2025 Australian Open – though Alcaraz is the two-time defending champion in Indian Wells.

Tursunov added: “Djokovic is in a very difficult situation; his chances are slim if he faces Carlos Alcaraz.”

World No 7 Djokovic is the sixth seed in Indian Wells and is one of the most successful players in the tournament’s history, with a joint-record five men’s singles titles to his name.

However, the Serbian has not won the title since 2016 and did not play in the tournament between 2019 and 2024.

On his return last year, Djokovic defeated Aleksandar Vukic in his opening match before a shock loss to lucky loser Luca Nardi in the third round.

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Before August 2021, the name Emma Raducanu was only known by those in tennis circles.

The Canadian-born Briton turned professional in 2018, winning her first tournament in May, but a surprise call-up to Britain’s Fed Cup team saw her dubbed as “the British player with the most potential of her generation” by British newspaper the Telegraph.

But for Raducanu, now 22, there is unquestionably life before and after the 2021 US Open.

The Fairytale of New York it was described. A 150-ranked qualifier, not just unfancied but unheard of, winning 10 matches without even dropping a set to stun the tennis world. By the time of her final appearance, the UK in particular was gripped by tennis fever in a way it had not been since Andy Murray. Her final was broadcast on free-to-air television, an honour usually reserved only for Wimbledon.

Come the morning, Raducanu’s face was on every newspaper. MIRACLE one read, ABSOLUTE EMM-ENSE said another. In the space of two weeks, the teenager from Bromley had been jettisoned from an up-and-coming talent to a bonafide star.

Life back then was pretty sweet for the newly-minted Grand Slam champion, the first British female for 44 years to win one of the big four. She rose 332 places in the rankings, received congratulatory messages from the late Queen Elizabeth II and a MBE. She was named Sportswoman of the Year by the Sunday Times. The Guardian ranked her final as the 47th best TV show of the year. She was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year, the first tennis player since Murray in 2016 and the first female player since Virginia Wade in 1977. Life would have felt its most surreal to her when attended fashion’s most famous night, the Met Gala, in the same city where her triumph had occurred a few days before.

But tennis has a short memory. The idiom ‘you are only as good as your last match’ rings true in all sports but the nature of single’s tennis means there is nowhere to hide when the tide turns against you.

That first sign of trouble came less than two weeks after the US Open win.

A straight-sets defeat in the opening match of the delayed Indian Wells tournament. Dismissed as a post-US open hangover, there was not too much concern about the career trajectory of Raducanu at the time who many would assume would do like all greats before her and go from success to success.

And yet, it is at the Indian Wells venue that her latest crushing defeat has occurred – a 6-3, 6-2 battering at the hands of Moyuka Uchijima. It is a defeat, her fifth this year, that has shone an even brighter spotlight on her.

That spotlight which hangs around Raducanu like a ball and chain was put into ugly context during the Dubai Championships in February when the Briton was approached by a stalker. Hiding behind the umpire’s chair, Raducanu held back tears while the man was removed from the stands and subsequently given a restraining order.
It was a horrible incident for the young woman, a breakin of the inner sanctum of safety that tennis courts are supposed to be for athletes and yet another unwanted discretion for her to have to navigate.

Trying to put that incident behind her, she headed for California and Indian Wells, a tournament she described as her favourite outside of the slams, but the result has been concerningly predictable.

Three long years have come and gone since Raducanu’s last final, In WTA 100 events, she has never made it past round four, only once getting that far in 2023. Raducanu has tried everything to rediscover that Slam-winning form that continues to elude her. Coaches have changed, surgeries have been had, she even tried working with different types of balls to get back to how she played in 2021. But even her most ardent supporter will find it hard to suggest she has lived up to her potential.

Or maybe she has? Trying to decipher Raducanu poses a conundrum. Was the real Emma Raducanu the US Open winner? Or is it the one that keeps departing tournaments at early stages?

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She would never admit it but the US Open win has proven to be both a blessing and a curse for Raducanu. A life-defining moment but one that raised expectations so high for a player who may never reach that height again.

More than Uchijima at Indian Wells, more than Swiatek at the Australian Open, more than any other opponent – Raducanu is playing against the very idea of who she is.

There is no shame in the career she has had. $4,685,567 in prize money, 11 Grand Slam appearances. She is one of just 131 women in the history of tennis to have won a Grand Slam, and yet the crowning moment of her career has come right at the start of it, placing an unrealistic expectation on her for the rest of her playing days and making every defeat amplified.

At 22, time is on her side but with every passing year that goes by, it is becoming increasingly clear which is the real Raducanu and which is the fairytale version.

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The post Is the US Open win the best and worst thing to ever happen to Emma Raducanu? appeared first on Tennis365.

Novak Djokovic might only be the best tennis player of all-time, but he could be edging himself towards the title of the greatest athlete of the modern era, according to Patrick McEnroe.

Speaking exclusively to Tennis365 at Indian Wells in his capacity as International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF) President, McEnroe suggested the time has come to put Djokovic in the mix for the title of the ultimate athlete in the history of all sports as he suggested his longevit at the top has taken his reputation to the next level.

Djokovic has already won his battle to be etched into the tennis history books as the most successful player of all-time after he claimed more Grand Slam titles than his great rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Now McEnroe has told us that the Serbian’s achievements may be even more remarkable than enduring champions like soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, NFL star Tom Brady and basketball giant LeBron James.

“You are seeing this kind of longevity from great athletes in a few other sports, but what Novak is doing may be the best of the lot,” McEnroe told Tennis365.

“We have Cristiano Ronaldo at the age of 40 still playing on the biggest stages. Tom Brady continued his career for a long time, then you look at LeBron James doing what he is doing in baseball, but I would argue what Novak is doing is even more impressive.

“With tennis being an individual sport, it is harder to compete for as long as Novak has done and given everything he has won in the sport, his passion and drive for more is so impressive.

“There’s nowhere to run or hide in tennis. If you are Ronaldo, you have some protection from your team mates and may only need to contribute for sections of a game.

“Tom Brady has all that protection from his teammates and LeBron is a team player, but tennis is all about doing it on your own.

“That’s why I would say what Novak Djokovic is doing is one of the greatest achievements in the history of sport.

“He is about to be 38 and the fact that he is still competing as well as he did in a major as he did in Australia was amazing.

“He obviously hasn’t won a major in over a year now, but he did win the Olympics last year and he is still beating players like Carlos Alcaraz, so he is still right there.

“Who knows whether he will win another major. Wimbledon may be his best shot this year, but he obviously still loves the game and he is doing everything he possibly can to win again.”

McEnroe went on to suggest Djokovic’s drive to improve and grow as an athlete has allowed him to stay focused on tennis, as he cited an example of his attention to detail as he prepared for a Grand Slam tournament.

“I remember last year at the US Open in the week prior to the tournament, we were doing our shows on ESPN and he was going through his return of serve in incredible detail,” said McEnroe.

“He had his team filming him, what position his elbow was in and where his wrist was. It was really detailed stuff.

“I was looking at it and thinking this is the greatest tennis player of all-time, with the greatest return of all-time and he is still dissecting his game and trying to get better. I guess this is one of the reasons why he has been so successful. His attention to detail is like no other.

“Great players I played against like [Pete] Sampras, [Roger] Federer or my brother, they had so much natural ability and you didn’t feel they were dissecting the ins and outs of it as much as someone like Djokovic.”

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The International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF) officially opened its Letters to Greatness booth at an event hosted by ITHF Presidents, Patrick McEnroe and Kim Clijsters.

McEnroe and Clijsters were joined by ITHF CEO, Dan Faber and upcoming 2025 Inductees, Bob and Mike Bryan, to kick off the event by recording their own Letters to Greatness – congratulatory messages to Maria Sharapova and the Bryan Brothers ahead of their formal induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame later this summer.

The Letters to Greatness booth will remain open throughout the remainder of the BNP Paribas Open, where tennis fans will have the chance to record or pen their own personal messages to the Class of 2025.

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Emma Raducanu’s latest defeat has sent her to the bottom of an alarming statistic concerning Grand Slam winners at WTA-1000 events.

Raducanu, whose only title to date came at the 2021 US Open, now has a win percentage of just 42.3% in the WTA Tour events, making her the worst-performing Grand Slam winner since the format was changed in 2009.

Here are the bottom five worst-performing Grand Slam winners in WTA-1000 events, according to Opta.

5. Jelena Ostapenko – 54.7%

Like Raducanu, Latvian Ostapenko had her own incredible run to Grand Slam success at the 2017 French Open.

Unseeded, she had never won a Tour-level title before and did so by not only beating No 3 Simona Halep in the final but fought back from a set and 3-0 down to claim victory.

The 20-year-old’s career since then, however has failed to reach similar heights.

She was knocked out in the first round at Roland Garros the following two seasons and has never returned to a Grand Slam final. Her best effort was the 2018 semi-final at Wimbledon as well as four quarter-final appearances.

In WTA 1000 tournaments, she won the Qatar Open in 2018 and the Cincinnati Open in 2022 but has 17 first-round eliminations on her record.

4. Sloane Stephens – 53.8%

Sloane Stephens won her home Grand Slam in 2017 in an all-American clash against Madison Keys.

Stephens dominated, winning 6-3, 6-0, in the performance of her career, but she struggled to replicate that form in WTA 1000 events.

Her sole title came at the 2018 Miami Open, but since her semi-final at the 2019 Madrid Open, she has failed to make it past the quarters.

3. Sofia Kenin – 51.3%

Another American on this list is Sofia Kenin, who at 26 has plenty of time to move herself up and off this ranking.

An Australian Open champion in 2020, she made the final of the French Open in that Covid-hit season but has not made it past the fourth round in any slam since then.

In WTA 1000 events, she has reached the semi-final three times but has failed to progress past that stage, winning 37 matches but losing 44.

2. Francesca Schiavone – 42.4%

After Kenin, there is a sizeable drop down to Francesca Schivanone, who won less than half of her WTA 1000 matches.

Her Grand Slam success came at the 2010 French Open, the only Slam she made it past the quarters, when she defeated Samantha Stosur. Schiavone then made the final the following year but lost to Li Na.

Despite 110 entries, including some before the 2009 change, Schiavone never won a WTA 1000 event and just once reached the final, at the 2005 Kremlin Cup.

Post-2009, she made it to quarters three times and the semi-final once but was largely eliminated in the opening rounds before retiring in 2018.

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1. Emma Raducanu – 42.3%

Raducanu’s latest defeat at Indian Wells pushed her just marginally below Schiavone, meaning she has the unwanted record of being the worst-performing Grand Slam winner in WTA 1000 events history.

Following the fairytale win at the 2021 US Open, Raducanu has struggled to recapture their magic, especially in WTA 1000 tournaments.

Her best effort came at the 2023 Indian Wells event but a fourth-round exit hardly lived up to her US Open exploits.

She has reached the third round on four occasions but has more first-round exits than anything else on her record.

Coupled with a third-round demolition by Iga Swiatek and Raducanu’s 2025 has got off to a rough start.

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The post Emma Raducanu’s struggles highlighted by stat on unwanted list appeared first on Tennis365.

Patrick McEnroe believes Novak Djokovic’s “attention to detail” is the secret to his enduring success, as he gave us his views in an exclusive interview with Tennis365.

McEnroe, who is president of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, was courtside at last year’s US Open as Djokovic prepared for his latest attempt to win a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title and while he ultimately came up short in New York, his drive to succeed shone through.

The younger brother of seven-time Grand Slam singles champion John McEnroe is a big admirer of Djokovic and he suggests the 37-year-old Serbian’s drive for more glory is the primary reason why he will be remembered as the game’s most successful champion.

“I remember last year at the US Open in the week prior to the tournament, we were doing our shows on ESPN and he was going through his return of serve in incredible detail,” McEnroe told Tennis365.

“He had his team filming him, what position his elbow was in and where his wrist was. It was really detailed stuff.

“I was looking at it and thinking this is the greatest tennis player of all-time, with the greatest return of all-time and he is still dissecting his game and trying to get better. I guess this is one of the reasons why he has been so successful. His attention to detail is like no other.

“Great players I played against like (Pete) Sampras, (Roger) Federer or my brother, they had so much natural ability and you didn’t feel they were dissecting the ins and outs of it as much as someone like Djokovic.”

McEnroe went on to suggest Djokovic’s move to hire former rival Andy Murray as his new coach was another example of his eagerness to reinvent himself and reach for new targets.

Three-time Grand Slam winner Murray is in Indian Wells with Djokovic this week, after the duo started a surprise and productive partnership at the Australian Open in January.

“I think the arrival of Murray in his team is his way to stay engaged in something new and that is admirable given everything he has achieved,” said McEnroe.

“It’s strange to see Murray out there as a coach to Djokovic, but it’s kind of cool as well.

“Novak has brought in some great players down the years like (Andre) Agassi, (Boris) Becker and Goran Ivanisevic and I think it’s a way to keep himself motivated.

“This is a guy who loves to talk tennis and not only dissect his opponent’s gameplan, but his own game as well.”

McEnroe is in Indian Wells for the first ATP Masters event of the year in his role as president of the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Doubles legends Bob and Mike Bryan will join Grand Slam winning great Maria Sharapova by being inducted into the tennis Hall of Fame later this year, with McEnroe part of a new initiative at Indian Wells to raise awareness of the importance of celebrating the legend of our sport.

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“The tournament here was nice enough to give us a great spot next to one of the main entrances and we have a Letters To Greatness booth. Fans can send video or voice messages to this year’s inductees to our Hall of Fame,” he added.

“We want to make sure we put the message of the Hall of Fame out there and celebrate the great champions in our sport.

“In Europe, some people may not even be aware that we have a Hall of Fame in tennis, so we are keen to highlight what we are doing. This is part of our mission to get the word out there, especially as tennis has been dominated by the great European players who have dominated the game in recent years.”

The International Tennis Hall of Fame has confirmed details surrounding the programming for its 2025 Induction Celebration that will present Sharapova and Bob and Mike Bryan with the ultimate honour in Tennis – induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

This year, the reimagined Induction Celebration, which will be held in Newport, Rhode Island. from August 21-23, 2025, will feature engaging experiences throughout its Fan Fest, including a live recording of the tennis podcast, Served with Andy Roddick.

Additionally, the weekend’s celebration will close out with a concert following the formal induction ceremony on Saturday, August 23rd.

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Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner may be the dominant forces in the men’s game, yet the new ‘Big 2’ could soon have company at the top of the rankings.

A glut of exciting young players are bursting through the ranks, with the next generation rapidly catching up on the current giants at the top of the game.

Now respected coach Patrick Mouratoglou has given his verdict on the four players he believes are ready to challenge at the top of the sport and he started with João Fonseca.

The Brazilian teenager made a stunning breakthrough as he won his first ATP Tour title in Argentina last month and Mouratoglou – who is a former coach of Serena Williams – has joined the chorus suggesting he is a star in the making.

“He just won his first ATP title on clay, but don’t be fooled, his game translates to any surface,” wrote Mouratoglou on LinkedIn.

“At just 18, his confidence is sky-high, and he plays with fearless energy. He already secured a big win on hard courts by defeating Andrey Rublev in the first round of the Australian Open.

“He has the weapons to trouble anyone, and this tournament is the perfect stage to showcase his talent.”

Next on Mouratoglou’s list is American Alex Mickelsen, who reached the last-16 at the Australian Open and is knocking on the door of the top 30 in the rankings heading into Indian Wells.

“The American is powerful, aggressive, and already proving he belongs at the top,” said Mouratoglou, who is currently coaching four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka.

“After his impressive run at the Australian Open where he defeated Tsitsipas and reached the fourth round, he’ll have the full support of the home crowd. We know how dangerous American players can be on home soil.”

France’s Arthur Fils is now an established ATP Tour player and Mouratoglou suggests the 20-year-old has too much talent not to reach the top of the game.

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“We’ve been talking about him for a while now, and for good reason,” he continued.

“He’s explosive, athletic, and constantly progressing. He hasn’t had his big breakthrough yet, but he’s getting closer. Indian Wells could be the moment he makes his mark.”

Finally, he cast his eye over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, who boasts a serve that can test the best in the game, but still lacks the consistency to maintain his form over a full tournament.

“If you love big serves and aces, this is your guy,” added Mouratoglou. “He has the best serve on tour right now, and his second serve is just as dangerous as his first.

“He barely hits double faults and can win free points at any time. A player like this is always a threat in fast conditions.”

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The post Patrick Mouratoglou gives his verdict on Joao Fonseca as the hype machine builds appeared first on Tennis365.

Iga Swiatek has been pretty vocal about the congested tennis schedule, but the five-time Grand Slam winner says she has no plans to skip any big events in the next few months.

Last year Swiatek played in the two Middle East WTA 1000 events, the Sunshine Double in Indian Wells and Miami, the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers for Poland and a full clay-court swing featuring the Stuttgart Open, Madrid Open, Italian Open and Roland Garros.

That busy schedule eventually took its toll as she admitted later in the campaign that she ran out of steam and stated that tennis authorities were “pushing and pushing for us to play more” and pleaded that “we deserve to rest a little bit more”.

The then world No 1 later added: “I think it needs to be changed because also I think it’s going to be better for fans and because they’re not going to see their favourite players like pull out or getting injured so much, I think, and we can present better quality, I would say.”

Swiatek, though, plans to play the same events in 2025 as she intends to participate in all the major clay-court tournaments after the conclusion of the Sunshine Double.

“I don’t remember how it was last year. I know that every, like, swing is different. For example, I don’t know, like, one year or two years ago in Middle East, I also got, like, two walkovers. This year I didn’t,” she explained.

“The tournaments can be, there’s no way to compare one year to the other, because that story can be totally different. For sure this part of the season is really tough. And I, for sure, don’t want to miss any clay court tournaments. And Indian Wells, Miami, as well, I love these tournaments, and I already proved myself that physically I can handle it.

“You know, also, it’s going to be different if you’re going to start these tournaments, I don’t know, three-setters or two matches, 6-2, 6-2, you know. So, yeah, I mean, we’ll see. There is no point to overthink that. My plan is to play everything.

“I’ll just go with it step by step, week by week, and we’ll think about it during. I mean, it’s more coach’s job to plan it before in a way that I can start the swing with enough amount of freshness and recovering.”

There appear to be no plans to reduce the number of tournaments, instead some WTA 1000 events have been expanded as this year’s Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open will now be two-weeks long.

The Pole is coming off a slightly disappointing Middle East campaign as she reached the semi-final in Qatar while she lost in the quarter-final in Dubai.

Up next is her Indian Wells title defence.

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Asked about the long time on the road, the reigning French Open champion said: I think I already got used to it, also because the slams were always long, so you always get a one day off.

“Honestly, well, for sure, it’s hard at the end of the year, because you feel like you’ve been on tour for a long time,” she said. “The tournaments are long. So if you’re gonna play till the end, you don’t have much time to go back home or to even have two proper days off, you know.

“But on the other hand, there are also advantages. You can use this day off for a nice practice, and if you feel like your technique when you’re playing matches is going down a bit, you can really remind yourself on these practices on what to focus on and what to work on.

“I try to look at the positive side of this, as we don’t have much influence on the scheduling. I’ll take as much from it as possible.”

The post Iga Swiatek makes schedule promise despite concerns over hectic calendar appeared first on Tennis365.

Andy Murray has been described as “the best possible” coach that Novak Djokovic could have appointed with former player Janko Tipsarevic convinced the Brit is the “full package”.

Following long-term coach Goran Ivanisevic’s departure at the beginning of the 2024 season, Djokovic played the remainder of the campaign without a full-time mentor.

The tennis legend finished the year without any Grand Slam titles, but he did win the coveted gold medal in the singles at the 2024 Paris Olympics with some suggesting he could quit the sport after completing the Career Golden Slam.

But the 24-time Grand Slam winner put paid to those rumours as he appointed fellow former world No 1 Murray as his coach for the off-season and Australian Open.

Although Djokovic failed to win the season-opening Grand Slam under his former rival’s tutelage, they have opted to extend the partnership for the upcoming Sunshine Double as both feel there were a lot of positives during the first two months of the season.

Former world No 8 Tipsarevic gave his views on Murray’s coaching credentials.

“When I talk about glorified towel boys and people who are on tour just to pick up balls, 100% Andy Murray does not fall into that category,” the Serbian said on The Tennis Podcast.

“This has nothing to do with him being the ex-world No 1, there are a lot of ex-top players who are s*** coaches.

“My description of Andy Murray as a coach has nothing to do with his prior successes as a tennis player, by his character, you can clearly see that he loves the sport.”

As one of the all-time greats of the game, Djokovic has the luxury of turning to just about any former player, including fellow greats, to work with them.

Some believe he would have been better off working with someone like Pete Sampras, although the 14-time Grand Slam himself has never indicated he is interested in coaching.

Novak Djokovic News

ATP pro claims Novak Djokovic deserves ‘credit’ amid Andy Murray partnership

Did Andy Murray give Novak Djokovic the tactical plan to beat Carlos Alcaraz?

Tipsarevic, though, feels Murray is the perfect ex-player to work with his compatriot.

“I feel from every possible person on tour, this was and I’m not saying this because we were friends, this was the best possible hire Novak could take,” he said. “I really feel if he is healthy he can have another great season.

“There is nobody better on tour for Novak as a full package, that he knows personally, that he respects, that he knows will give 100% into the job like he is giving in this moment of his career than Murray.

“I am 100% certain of that, he is a way better hire than [Pete] Sampras or some legend like that or a top player or a Grand Slam winner.

“Because in Andy you have everything in one in terms of somebody who knows the feeling of the pressure that Novak needs his coach to know, and he has been playing with the guys that Novak has still been competing against. So, yeah, I think it was a very good hire.”

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