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

Andy Murray has revealed that he "probably failed to achieve the results I would have wanted" during his short-lived tenure mentoring his past rival, Novak Djokovic.

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

In his first-ever position as a coach, 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 immensely difficult," Murray remarked in an interview.

He continued, "Novak, like myself, is a challenging character in terms of the way he goes about his tennis, [it] is incredibly rigorous."

Looking Back at the Stint

In retrospect, Murray stated 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 make the semi-finals in Melbourne, but was had to pull out with an injury from his contest against Alexander Zverev.

Afterwards, upon his return, Djokovic experienced 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 sensational 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."

A Challenging Start and Career Reflections

Murray also disclosed 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 "awkward."

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

Views on the Tennis Calendar

The conversation turned 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, 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 tired and mentally more fatigued 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 feeling 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 quantity of time that players are away on the road that's truly an issue."