🔗 Share this article Murray Admits He Fell Short of the Targeted Results with Djokovic Novak Djokovic secured 25 victories 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 liked" during his brief tenure coaching his one-time rival, Novak Djokovic. Murray, who concluded his playing career at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, entered Djokovic's coaching setup last November, but the partnership ended after only half a year. In his first-ever coaching role, the 38-year-old Murray teamed up with the 24-time Grand Slam champion at the Australian Open in 2025 and three other tournaments. "You're working with 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 remarked in an interview. He went on to say, "Novak, like myself, is a challenging character in terms of the way he goes about his tennis, [it] is highly intense." Reflecting on the Stint Upon reflection, Murray expressed that he is glad he took on 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. 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 a shame what happened in Australia with the injury, but I watched him play ridiculous 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 disappointed. Probably didn't get the results I would have liked for him. But I learned a lot about what coaching involves." An Intimidating Start and Playing Reflections Murray also shared an story from his first day on the job, when he was asked to join Djokovic on a run. He suffered through calf cramps so as not to fail his fellow former world number one—a moment he labeled "awkward." Reflecting on his own stellar playing career, Murray reflected he "would have taken more breaks" to savour his successes, including after his two Olympic triumphs. Perspective Regarding the Tennis Calendar The conversation moved onto the current 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, 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 tired and psychologically drained than they were before because they're spending more days away on the road," Murray explained. "When you're more fatigued, you're more sensitive to pain and discomfort. My belief 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 amount of time that players are away on the road that's actually an issue."
Novak Djokovic secured 25 victories 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 liked" during his brief tenure coaching his one-time rival, Novak Djokovic. Murray, who concluded his playing career at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, entered Djokovic's coaching setup last November, but the partnership ended after only half a year. In his first-ever coaching role, the 38-year-old Murray teamed up with the 24-time Grand Slam champion at the Australian Open in 2025 and three other tournaments. "You're working with 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 remarked in an interview. He went on to say, "Novak, like myself, is a challenging character in terms of the way he goes about his tennis, [it] is highly intense." Reflecting on the Stint Upon reflection, Murray expressed that he is glad he took on 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. 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 a shame what happened in Australia with the injury, but I watched him play ridiculous 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 disappointed. Probably didn't get the results I would have liked for him. But I learned a lot about what coaching involves." An Intimidating Start and Playing Reflections Murray also shared an story from his first day on the job, when he was asked to join Djokovic on a run. He suffered through calf cramps so as not to fail his fellow former world number one—a moment he labeled "awkward." Reflecting on his own stellar playing career, Murray reflected he "would have taken more breaks" to savour his successes, including after his two Olympic triumphs. Perspective Regarding the Tennis Calendar The conversation moved onto the current 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, 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 tired and psychologically drained than they were before because they're spending more days away on the road," Murray explained. "When you're more fatigued, you're more sensitive to pain and discomfort. My belief 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 amount of time that players are away on the road that's actually an issue."