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

Andy Murray has commented that he "probably fell short of the results I would have liked" during his short-lived tenure guiding his past rival, Novak Djokovic.

Murray, who ended his professional career at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, entered Djokovic's staff last November, but the collaboration concluded after only half a year.

In his first-ever position as a coach, the 38-year-old Murray worked with the 24-time Grand Slam champion at the Australian Open in 2025 and three 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 noted in an interview.

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

Looking Back at the Stint

Upon reflection, Murray expressed that he is pleased he undertook the role. "It's an incredible experience that I've had," he observed.

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

Following that, upon his comeback, 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 sensational tennis in that tournament," Murray noted.

"After the injury, it was undoubtedly 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 learned a lot about what coaching is."

An Intimidating Start and Playing Reflections

Murray also recounted an anecdote 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 let down his fellow former world number one—a moment he labeled "awkward."

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

Opinion About the Tennis Tour

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

Murray, who was plagued by injuries in his latter career, 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 suggests players are getting injured more than before. But I do think players are more fatigued 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 view 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 volume of time that players are away on the road that's actually an issue."