As the French Open draws near, Novak Djokovic has spoken candidly about the breakdown of his coaching relationship with Andy Murray, saying that they simply “couldn’t get anything more” from collaborating.

Their partnership, which was originally slated to continue until Wimbledon, ended abruptly after just six months.  The former adversaries had teamed up on the court, but Djokovic claims that their decision to split was determined by how far they could advance as coaches.

“We felt like we couldn’t get more out of that partnership on the court, and that’s all there is to it,” Djokovic said.  After getting to know Murray personally, his regard for him has only increased despite the breakup.

“My respect towards Andy remains the same, even more actually, I got to know him as a person,” the star from Serbia stated.  “I think he has a brilliant tennis IQ, he has a very rare mind of a champion that has achieved what he has achieved, and he sees the game incredibly well.”

 Djokovic is committed to putting his recent setbacks behind him as the French Open gets underway on Sunday.  He has lost his last three games since recovering from injury, including an unexpected Madrid Open Round of 64 loss to Matteo Arnaldi.

Djokovic will play in the Geneva Open beginning Wednesday, where he will take on Marton Fucsovics in the opening round, in an attempt to get back on track.  He would become just the third man in history to collect 100 ATP singles titles with a victory in the tournament.

 Djokovic, who is currently ranked sixth in the world, is comfortable with his current coaching staff, which consists of analyst Boris Bosnjakovic and Dusan Vemic.  As he looks to regain his peak performance, he maintains that there is no rush to hire a new coach and that he is at ease with his squad.

“I don’t currently require a coach.  I don’t have to hurry in any situation.  The folks surrounding me make me feel at ease.  “We’ll see what happens in the upcoming tournaments,” he stated.

 Young stars Jannick Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are at the top of the rankings as Djokovic gets ready for the Grand Slam.  Before losing to Alcaraz in straight sets in the Italian Open final, Sinner, who had returned from a three-month doping ban, showed promise by winning five straight games.

The current Ronald Garros favorite, Alcaraz, won the first set 7-5 and dominated the second 6-1, displaying the form that has many anticipating him to compete fiercely for the trophy alongside Alexander Zverev and Sinner.