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

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

Murray, who finalized his professional career at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, joined Djokovic's staff last November, but the collaboration concluded 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 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 extremely challenging," Murray noted in an interview.

He went on to say, "Novak, like myself, is a perfectionist in terms of the way he goes about his tennis, [it] is highly intense."

Assessing the Experience

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

During their time together, Djokovic overcame Carlos Alcaraz to reach the semi-finals in Melbourne, but was forced to retire due to injury from his match against Alexander Zverev.

Following that, upon his comeback, Djokovic experienced first-round losses 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 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 Playing Reflections

Murray also shared an incident from his first day on the job, when he was invited 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 called "awkward."

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

Views on the Tennis Tour

The conversation turned to the present-day tennis calendar, a topic of concern among top players.

Murray, who was plagued by injuries in his final seasons, had voted against increasing the number of two-week ATP 1,000 tournaments, arguing 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 fatigued and psychologically drained than they were before because they're spending more days away on the road," Murray explained.

"When you're more tired, you're more sensitive to pain and discomfort. My belief is that's what players are sensing 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 quantity of time that players are away on the road that's truly an issue."