Murray Admits He Fell Short of the Targeted Results for Djokovic

Andy Murray has revealed that he "probably fell short of the results I would have hoped for" during his six-month tenure mentoring his one-time rival, Novak Djokovic.

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

In his debut coaching role, the 38-year-old Murray teamed up with the 24-time Grand Slam champion at the 2025 Australian Open 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 anticipation was that it was going to be exceptionally tough," Murray said in an interview.

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

Assessing the Experience

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

During their time together, Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz to reach the semi-finals in Melbourne, but was compelled to withdraw due to injury from his clash against Alexander Zverev.

Following that, upon his comeback, Djokovic experienced early exits in Qatar and at Indian Wells, before losing the Miami Open final to Czech teenager Jakub Mensik.

"It was regrettable what happened in Australia with the injury, but I watched him play sensational 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 entails."

A Demanding 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 let down his fellow former world number one—a moment he described as "embarrassing."

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

Opinion About the Tennis Schedule

The conversation turned to the current tennis calendar, a topic of discussion among top players.

Murray, who was plagued by injuries in his final seasons, had been 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 shows players are getting injured more than before. But I do think players are more weary and mentally more fatigued than they were before because they're spending more days away on the road," Murray stated.

"When you're more fatigued, you're more vulnerable 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 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."