Murray Concedes He Fell Short of the Targeted Outcomes for Djokovic

Andy Murray has commented that he "probably failed to achieve the results I would have liked" during his short-lived tenure coaching his one-time rival, Novak Djokovic.

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

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

"It's a job 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 immensely difficult," Murray noted in an interview.

He added, "Novak, like myself, is a challenging character in terms of the way he tackles his tennis, [it] is highly intense."

Reflecting on the Period

Looking back, Murray expressed that he is glad he took on the role. "It's an incredible experience that I've had," he observed.

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

Subsequently, upon his return, Djokovic experienced opening-round defeats in Qatar and at Indian Wells, before falling 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 disheartened. Probably didn't get the results I would have liked for him. But I came away wiser about what coaching is."

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 endured calf cramps so as not to let down his fellow former world number one—a moment he called "awkward."

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

Opinion About the Tennis Calendar

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

Murray, who was hindered by injuries in his later years, had voted against increasing the number of two-week ATP 1,000 tournaments, saying the increased time on the road would be detrimental to 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 mentally more fatigued than they were before because they're spending more days away on the road," Murray stated.

"When you're more tired, you're more vulnerable to pain and discomfort. My view is that's what players are experiencing 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."