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

Andy Murray has revealed that he "probably fell short of the results I would have hoped for" during his brief tenure coaching his past rival, Novak Djokovic.

Murray, who concluded his illustrious career at the 2024 Paris Olympics, became part of Djokovic's coaching setup last November, but the arrangement 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 three 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 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."

Reflecting on the Experience

Upon reflection, Murray stated that he is happy he accepted the role. "It's an incredible experience that I've had," he observed.

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

Following that, upon his comeback, Djokovic experienced early exits in Qatar and at Indian Wells, before being defeated in 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 undoubtedly 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 entails."

A Challenging Start and Career Reflections

Murray also recounted an incident from his first day on the job, when he was invited 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 labeled "embarrassing."

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

Views on the Tennis Calendar

The conversation moved onto the modern tennis calendar, a topic of concern among top players.

Murray, who was hindered by injuries in his latter career, had been against 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 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 stated.

"When you're more fatigued, you're more sensitive to pain and discomfort. My belief is that's what players are experiencing 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 volume of time that players are away on the road that's truly an issue."