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

Andy Murray has commented that he "probably failed to achieve 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 Olympic Games in Paris 2024, entered Djokovic's coaching setup last November, but the partnership ended after only half a year.

In his maiden position as a coach, the 38-year-old Murray teamed up with the 24-time Grand Slam champion at the Australian Open in 2025 and several additional tournaments.

"You're working with 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 extremely challenging," Murray said in an interview.

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

Assessing the Period

In retrospect, Murray conveyed that he is happy he accepted the role. "It's an incredible experience that I've had," he commented.

During their time together, Djokovic overcame Carlos Alcaraz to reach the semi-finals in Melbourne, but was forced to retire with an injury from his match against Alexander Zverev.

Following that, upon his comeback, Djokovic suffered first-round losses in Qatar and at Indian Wells, before losing the Miami Open final to Czech teenager Jakub Mensik.

"It was unfortunate 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 disheartened. Probably didn't get the results I would have liked for him. But I learned a lot about what coaching involves."

An Intimidating Start and Playing Reflections

Murray also shared an incident from his first day on the job, when he was invited 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 called "humiliating."

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

Views on the Tennis Schedule

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

Murray, who was plagued by injuries in his later years, had been against increasing the number of two-week ATP 1,000 tournaments, saying the increased time on the road would negatively impact 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 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 sensitive to pain and discomfort. My feeling is that's what players are sensing 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 quantity of time that players are away on the road that's actually an issue."