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

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

Murray, who finalized his playing career at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, joined Djokovic's staff last November, but the partnership dissolved after only half a year.

In his first-ever coaching role, the 38-year-old Murray partnered with the 24-time Grand Slam champion at the 2025 Australian Open and a handful of other tournaments.

"You're working with 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 noted in an interview.

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

Assessing the Stint

In retrospect, Murray conveyed that he is glad he accepted the role. "It's an amazing experience that I've had," he said.

During their time together, Djokovic overcame Carlos Alcaraz to advance to the semi-finals in Melbourne, but was had to pull out injured from his clash against Alexander Zverev.

Afterwards, 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 unfortunate what happened in Australia with the injury, but I watched him play ridiculous tennis in that tournament," Murray noted.

"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 disappointed. Probably didn't get the results I would have liked for him. But I learned a lot about what coaching involves."

A Challenging Start and Playing Reflections

Murray also shared an incident from his first day on the job, when he was told to join Djokovic on a run. He experienced calf cramps so as not to fail his fellow former world number one—a moment he labeled "awkward."

Reflecting on his own remarkable playing career, Murray said he "should have taken more breaks" to relish his successes, including after his two Olympic triumphs.

Perspective Regarding the Tennis Tour

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

Murray, who was plagued by injuries in his final seasons, had opposed increasing the number of two-week ATP 1,000 tournaments, arguing the increased time on the road would negatively impact players.

"I don't think there's anything that shows players are getting injured more than before. But I do think players are more weary and worn out mentally than they were before because they're spending more days away on the road," Murray explained.

"When you're more exhausted, you're more sensitive to pain and discomfort. My belief 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 quantity of time that players are away on the road that's actually an issue."