Murray Admits He Didn't Achieve the Targeted Results with Djokovic

Andy Murray has commented that he "probably failed to achieve the results I would have wanted" during his short-lived tenure mentoring his past rival, Novak Djokovic.

Murray, who finalized his professional career at the 2024 Paris Olympics, entered Djokovic's staff last November, but the partnership dissolved 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 2025 Australian Open 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 expectation was that it was going to be immensely difficult," Murray noted in an interview.

He went on to say, "Novak, like myself, is a challenging character in terms of the way he approaches his tennis, [it] is highly intense."

Reflecting on the Experience

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

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

Following that, upon his comeback, Djokovic endured first-round losses 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 ridiculous tennis in that tournament," Murray said.

"After the injury, it was definitely 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 Career Reflections

Murray also shared an anecdote 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 let down his fellow former world number one—a moment he called "humiliating."

Reflecting on his own successful playing career, Murray reflected he "could have taken more breaks" to relish his successes, including after his two Olympic triumphs.

Views on the Tennis Tour

The conversation shifted to the present-day tennis calendar, a topic of discussion 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, arguing 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 tired and psychologically drained than they were before because they're spending more days away on the road," Murray explained.

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

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