Murray Concedes He Fell Short of the Wanted Outcomes for Djokovic

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

Murray, who concluded his illustrious career at the 2024 Paris Olympics, became part of Djokovic's team last November, but the collaboration concluded 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 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 extremely challenging," Murray said in an interview.

He added, "Novak, like myself, is a perfectionist in terms of the way he tackles his tennis, [it] is incredibly rigorous."

Looking Back at the Stint

In retrospect, Murray stated 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 beat Carlos Alcaraz to make the semi-finals in Melbourne, but was compelled to withdraw injured from his match against Alexander Zverev.

Afterwards, upon his return, Djokovic suffered opening-round defeats in Qatar and at Indian Wells, before falling 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 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 entails."

A Demanding Start and Career Reflections

Murray also shared an incident from his first day on the job, when he was told to join Djokovic on a run. He suffered through calf cramps so as not to disappoint his fellow former world number one—a moment he labeled "embarrassing."

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

Views on the Tennis Schedule

The conversation shifted to the current tennis calendar, a topic of discussion 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 shows players are getting injured more than before. But I do think players are more tired and mentally more fatigued than they were before because they're spending more days away on the road," Murray commented.

"When you're more fatigued, you're more sensitive 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 grueling than they were 10, 15 years ago. But it's the amount of time that players are away on the road that's genuinely an issue."