Murray Concedes He Didn't Achieve the Wanted Results with Djokovic

Andy Murray has stated that he "probably failed to achieve the results I would have liked" during his brief tenure coaching his former rival, Novak Djokovic.

Murray, who concluded his illustrious career at the 2024 Paris Olympics, entered Djokovic's team last November, but the partnership concluded after only half a year.

In his debut position as a coach, the 38-year-old Murray worked with the 24-time Grand Slam champion at the 2025 Australian Open and several additional tournaments.

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

He continued, "Novak, like myself, is a challenging character in terms of the way he tackles his tennis, [it] is incredibly rigorous."

Looking Back at the Stint

In retrospect, Murray expressed that he is glad he accepted the role. "It's an incredible experience that I've had," he observed.

During their time together, Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz to advance to the semi-finals in Melbourne, but was had to pull out with an injury from his match against Alexander Zverev.

Subsequently, upon his comeback, Djokovic experienced opening-round defeats in Qatar and at Indian Wells, before being defeated in 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 noted.

"After the injury, it was certainly a difficult few months for him, but also I think for the team and all of us. I was disheartened. Probably didn't get the results I would have liked for him. But I came away wiser about what coaching is."

An Intimidating Start and Playing Reflections

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

Reflecting on his own successful playing career, Murray admitted he "should have taken more breaks" to savour his successes, including after his two Olympic victories.

Opinion About the Tennis Calendar

The conversation turned to the current tennis calendar, a topic of concern among top players.

Murray, who was plagued by injuries in his latter career, had been against increasing the number of two-week ATP 1,000 tournaments, believing 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 fatigued and mentally more fatigued than they were before because they're spending more days away on the road," Murray stated.

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

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