Murray Concedes He Fell Short of the Wanted Outcomes with Djokovic

Andy Murray has stated that he "probably fell short of the results I would have hoped for" during his six-month tenure coaching his former rival, Novak Djokovic.

Murray, who concluded his playing career at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, became part of Djokovic's coaching setup last November, but the partnership dissolved after only half a year.

In his debut coaching role, the 38-year-old Murray worked with the 24-time Grand Slam champion at the Australian Open in 2025 and three other tournaments.

"The role involves coaching not only one of the best tennis players but one of the best athletes of all time, so my assumption was that it was going to be exceptionally tough," Murray said in an interview.

He went on to say, "Novak, like myself, is a challenging character in terms of the way he approaches his tennis, [it] is incredibly rigorous."

Reflecting on the Period

Upon reflection, Murray conveyed that he is happy he took on the role. "It's an incredible experience that I've had," he commented.

During their time together, Djokovic beat Carlos Alcaraz to reach the semi-finals in Melbourne, but was compelled to withdraw due to injury from his contest against Alexander Zverev.

Subsequently, upon his comeback, Djokovic suffered opening-round defeats in Qatar and at Indian Wells, before losing the Miami Open final to Czech teenager Jakub Mensik.

"It was regrettable what happened in Australia with the injury, but I watched him play extraordinary tennis in that tournament," Murray said.

"After the injury, it was undoubtedly a difficult few months for him, but also I think for the team and all of us. I was let down. Probably didn't get the results I would have liked for him. But I gained valuable insight about what coaching entails."

An Intimidating Start and Playing Reflections

Murray also recounted an incident from his first day on the job, when he was invited to join Djokovic on a run. He suffered through calf cramps so as not to fail his fellow former world number one—a moment he described as "humiliating."

Reflecting on his own successful playing career, Murray reflected he "would have taken more breaks" to relish his successes, including after his two Olympic gold medals.

Views on the Tennis Tour

The conversation moved onto the present-day tennis calendar, a topic of concern among top players.

Murray, who was hindered by injuries in his latter career, had voted against increasing the number of two-week ATP 1,000 tournaments, arguing the increased time on the road would harm players.

"I don't think there's anything that indicates players are getting injured more than before. But I do think players are more weary and psychologically drained than they were before because they're spending more days away on the road," Murray stated.

"When you're more tired, you're more susceptible to pain and discomfort. My view is that's what players are feeling now, just being away for longer.

"I don't think the matches are so much more grueling than they were 10, 15 years ago. But it's the volume of time that players are away on the road that's truly an issue."