Andy Murray's shock phone call with Novak Djokovic as wife Kim makes feelings clear

Andy Murray says his appointment as Novak Djokovic's new coach came out of the blue but that he couldn't turn down the "unique opportunity" following a surprise phone call from the Serbian tennis ace.

The world of tennis was left stunned in November when it was announced that Murray - who only retired from playing in August - was to team up with his former rival and join his coaching team for the Australian Open.

The move came as a suprise to Murray too, with the 37-year-old revealing that he had told his golf partner he had no desire to move into coaching, minutes before Djokovic made the proposal. Since retiring, the three-time Grand Slam winner has spent more time with his family and on the golf course, but is now teaming up with the man he did battle with so many times on the court.

"[Novak] asked if I would be interested in helping, which I obviously wasn't expecting," Murray said as he explained how the move came about ahead of the Open. "I said to him: 'Look, I need to think about it and talk to my family.'

"So I spoke to them, and after a couple of days, I thought that it was a pretty unique opportunity and experience. I thought it would be a good idea to try it.

"I was playing golf, and we'd been exchanging messages. Novak had messaged me, just wanting to chat," he added. "Then I was on the 17th hole of the golf course and the guy I was playing with said: 'Do you know what's next?' I was like: 'No, not really'.

"He said: 'Do you have any plans to do any coaching?' And I said, 'Honestly, I can't think of anything worse to do right now', then 30 minutes later, I was in the car and called Novak, and then we had a conversation."

Murray added that his wife Kim was "very supportive" of the move, with the tennis ace linking up with Djokovic on a trial basis in Melbourne.

"It made sense to trial it and see if it works," he continued. "Then we said we'd make a more definitive decision after the tournament."