Andy Murray Admits He Fell Short of the Wanted Results with Djokovic

Andy Murray has revealed that he "probably didn't get the results I would have hoped for" during his brief tenure coaching his one-time rival, Novak Djokovic.

Murray, who finalized his illustrious career at the 2024 Paris Olympics, joined Djokovic's coaching setup last November, but the collaboration 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 several additional 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 said in an interview.

He went on to say, "Novak, like myself, is a demanding individual in terms of the way he tackles his tennis, [it] is incredibly rigorous."

Looking Back at the Experience

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

During their time together, Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz to advance to the semi-finals in Melbourne, but was had to pull out injured from his contest 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 regrettable what happened in Australia with the injury, but I watched him play ridiculous tennis in that tournament," Murray noted.

"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 disappointed. Probably didn't get the results I would have liked for him. But I gained valuable insight about what coaching entails."

A Challenging Start and Career Reflections

Murray also shared 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 "awkward."

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

Opinion About the Tennis Calendar

The conversation moved onto the current tennis calendar, a topic of debate among top players.

Murray, who was affected by injuries in his final seasons, had voted against increasing the number of two-week ATP 1,000 tournaments, saying 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 fatigued and psychologically drained than they were before because they're spending more days away on the road," Murray explained.

"When you're more fatigued, you're more vulnerable to pain and discomfort. My belief is that's what players are sensing now, just being away for longer.

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