Andy Murray Concedes He Fell Short of the Desired Results for Djokovic

Andy Murray has stated that he "probably failed to achieve the results I would have hoped for" during his short-lived tenure coaching his past 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 arrangement concluded 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 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 immensely difficult," Murray remarked in an interview.

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

Looking Back at the Stint

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

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

Subsequently, upon his comeback, Djokovic endured 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 sensational tennis in that tournament," Murray said.

"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 let down. Probably didn't get the results I would have liked for him. But I came away wiser about what coaching involves."

A Challenging Start and Career Reflections

Murray also shared an incident from his first day on the job, when he was asked 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 labeled "awkward."

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

Opinion About the Tennis Calendar

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

Murray, who was plagued by injuries in his final seasons, 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 suggests players are getting injured more than before. But I do think players are more tired 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 sensitive 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 grueling than they were 10, 15 years ago. But it's the amount of time that players are away on the road that's truly an issue."