Andy Murray Concedes He Fell Short of the Desired Results with Djokovic

Andy Murray has revealed that he "probably failed to achieve the results I would have hoped for" during his six-month tenure guiding his past rival, Novak Djokovic.

Murray, who ended his playing career at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, became part of Djokovic's coaching setup last November, but the collaboration ended after only half a year.

In his maiden coaching role, the 38-year-old Murray partnered 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 extremely challenging," Murray remarked 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

Looking back, Murray conveyed that he is glad he took on the role. "It's an unforgettable experience that I've had," he observed.

During their time together, Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz to reach the semi-finals in Melbourne, but was had to pull out with an injury from his contest against Alexander Zverev.

Subsequently, upon his return, Djokovic suffered opening-round defeats in Qatar and at Indian Wells, before being defeated in the Miami Open final to Czech teenager Jakub Mensik.

"It was unfortunate what happened in Australia with the injury, but I watched him play extraordinary 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 let down. Probably didn't get the results I would have liked for him. But I came away wiser about what coaching is."

A Challenging Start and Career Reflections

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

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

Views on the Tennis Schedule

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

Murray, who was plagued by injuries in his later years, had voted 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 indicates players are getting injured more than before. But I do think players are more weary 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 susceptible to pain and discomfort. My belief is that's what players are feeling 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."