Murray Concedes He Fell Short of the Wanted Results with Djokovic

Andy Murray has revealed that he "probably didn't get the results I would have liked" during his six-month tenure coaching his former rival, Novak Djokovic.

Murray, who concluded his illustrious career at the 2024 Paris Olympics, joined Djokovic's coaching setup last November, but the arrangement concluded after only half a year.

In his first-ever coaching role, the 38-year-old Murray worked with the 24-time Grand Slam champion at the 2025 Australian Open 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 anticipation was that it was going to be exceptionally tough," 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 Period

Upon reflection, Murray expressed that he is glad he took on the role. "It's an amazing experience that I've had," he observed.

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

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

"It was a shame 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 disheartened. Probably didn't get the results I would have liked for him. But I gained valuable insight about what coaching is."

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 endured 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 reflected he "would have taken more breaks" to savour his successes, including after his two Olympic victories.

Opinion About the Tennis Calendar

The conversation moved onto the current tennis calendar, a topic of debate among top players.

Murray, who was hindered by injuries in his final seasons, 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 shows players are getting injured more than before. But I do think players are more tired and mentally more fatigued than they were before because they're spending more days away on the road," Murray stated.

"When you're more exhausted, 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 amount of time that players are away on the road that's actually an issue."