🔗 Share this article Murray Admits He Fell Short of the Wanted Results with Djokovic Novak Djokovic won 25 wins out of 36 encounters against his longstanding rival Andy Murray. Andy Murray has commented that he "probably failed to achieve the results I would have wanted" during his short-lived tenure coaching his past rival, Novak Djokovic. Murray, who ended his professional career at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, entered Djokovic's coaching setup last November, but the collaboration concluded after only half a year. In his debut coaching role, the 38-year-old Murray worked 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 exceptionally tough," Murray said in an interview. He added, "Novak, like myself, is a challenging character in terms of the way he tackles his tennis, [it] is extremely demanding." Assessing the Stint Looking back, Murray expressed that he is pleased he took on the role. "It's an incredible experience that I've had," he commented. During their time together, Djokovic overcame Carlos Alcaraz to reach the semi-finals in Melbourne, but was compelled to withdraw injured from his contest against Alexander Zverev. Afterwards, upon his comeback, Djokovic experienced early exits 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 recalled. "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 gained valuable insight about what coaching entails." An Intimidating Start and Career Reflections Murray also shared an incident from his first day on the job, when he was invited to join Djokovic on a run. He endured calf cramps so as not to disappoint his fellow former world number one—a moment he described as "embarrassing." Reflecting on his own remarkable playing career, Murray reflected he "could have taken more breaks" to enjoy his successes, including after his two Olympic gold medals. Opinion About the Tennis Tour The conversation turned to the present-day tennis calendar, a topic of concern among top players. Murray, who was hindered by injuries in his latter career, had voted against increasing the number of two-week ATP 1,000 tournaments, believing the increased time on the road would harm players. "I don't think there's anything that suggests 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 commented. "When you're more tired, 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."
Novak Djokovic won 25 wins out of 36 encounters against his longstanding rival Andy Murray. Andy Murray has commented that he "probably failed to achieve the results I would have wanted" during his short-lived tenure coaching his past rival, Novak Djokovic. Murray, who ended his professional career at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, entered Djokovic's coaching setup last November, but the collaboration concluded after only half a year. In his debut coaching role, the 38-year-old Murray worked 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 exceptionally tough," Murray said in an interview. He added, "Novak, like myself, is a challenging character in terms of the way he tackles his tennis, [it] is extremely demanding." Assessing the Stint Looking back, Murray expressed that he is pleased he took on the role. "It's an incredible experience that I've had," he commented. During their time together, Djokovic overcame Carlos Alcaraz to reach the semi-finals in Melbourne, but was compelled to withdraw injured from his contest against Alexander Zverev. Afterwards, upon his comeback, Djokovic experienced early exits 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 recalled. "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 gained valuable insight about what coaching entails." An Intimidating Start and Career Reflections Murray also shared an incident from his first day on the job, when he was invited to join Djokovic on a run. He endured calf cramps so as not to disappoint his fellow former world number one—a moment he described as "embarrassing." Reflecting on his own remarkable playing career, Murray reflected he "could have taken more breaks" to enjoy his successes, including after his two Olympic gold medals. Opinion About the Tennis Tour The conversation turned to the present-day tennis calendar, a topic of concern among top players. Murray, who was hindered by injuries in his latter career, had voted against increasing the number of two-week ATP 1,000 tournaments, believing the increased time on the road would harm players. "I don't think there's anything that suggests 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 commented. "When you're more tired, 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."