Murray Admits He Didn't Achieve the Desired Outcomes for Djokovic

Andy Murray has revealed that he "probably didn't get the results I would have wanted" during his brief tenure mentoring his past rival, Novak Djokovic.

Murray, who concluded his professional 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 coaching role, the 38-year-old Murray partnered with the 24-time Grand Slam champion at the 2025 Australian Open and several additional tournaments.

"The role involves 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 remarked in an interview.

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

Reflecting on the Period

In retrospect, Murray conveyed that he is happy he undertook the role. "It's an amazing experience that I've had," he observed.

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

Afterwards, upon his comeback, Djokovic suffered 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 ridiculous tennis in that tournament," Murray said.

"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 let down. Probably didn't get the results I would have liked for him. But I learned a lot about what coaching is."

An Intimidating 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 fail his fellow former world number one—a moment he described as "embarrassing."

Reflecting on his own remarkable playing career, Murray reflected he "should have taken more breaks" to relish his successes, including after his two Olympic victories.

Views on the Tennis Tour

The conversation moved onto the current tennis calendar, a topic of concern 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 harm players.

"I don't think there's anything that shows 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 commented.

"When you're more tired, 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 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."