Murray Concedes He Fell Short of the Desired Results with Djokovic

Andy Murray has stated that he "probably fell short of the results I would have wanted" during his short-lived tenure guiding his past rival, Novak Djokovic.

Murray, who finalized his professional career at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, entered Djokovic's team last November, but the partnership dissolved 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 Australian Open in 2025 and a handful of 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 expectation was that it was going to be exceptionally tough," Murray noted in an interview.

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

Assessing the Period

Upon reflection, Murray expressed that he is glad he accepted the role. "It's an incredible experience that I've had," he said.

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

Following that, upon his return, Djokovic suffered first-round losses in Qatar and at Indian Wells, before being defeated in 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 gained valuable insight about what coaching is."

A Demanding Start and Playing Reflections

Murray also recounted 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 fail his fellow former world number one—a moment he described as "embarrassing."

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

Views on the Tennis Tour

The conversation turned to the current tennis calendar, a topic of debate among top players.

Murray, who was hindered by injuries in his latter career, had opposed increasing the number of two-week ATP 1,000 tournaments, believing the increased time on the road would be detrimental to players.

"I don't think there's anything that suggests players are getting injured more than before. But I do think players are more fatigued 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 susceptible 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."