Andy Murray Admits He Fell Short of the Targeted Results with Djokovic

Andy Murray has commented that he "probably failed to achieve the results I would have wanted" during his brief tenure coaching his past rival, Novak Djokovic.

Murray, who concluded his illustrious career at the 2024 Paris Olympics, joined Djokovic's team last November, but the collaboration dissolved after only half a year.

In his debut coaching role, 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 assumption was that it was going to be immensely difficult," Murray said in an interview.

He continued, "Novak, like myself, is a challenging character in terms of the way he tackles his tennis, [it] is highly intense."

Assessing the Period

Looking back, Murray conveyed that he is glad he accepted the role. "It's an incredible 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 due to injury from his clash against Alexander Zverev.

Afterwards, 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 a shame what happened in Australia with the injury, but I watched him play extraordinary tennis in that tournament," Murray said.

"After the injury, it was definitely 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 came away wiser about what coaching entails."

A Challenging Start and Playing Reflections

Murray also shared an incident from his first day on the job, when he was asked to join Djokovic on a run. He endured 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 admitted he "could have taken more breaks" to relish his successes, including after his two Olympic triumphs.

Views on the Tennis Calendar

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

Murray, who was plagued by injuries in his latter career, had been 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 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 exhausted, you're more sensitive to pain and discomfort. My view 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 truly an issue."