🔗 Share this article Murray Concedes He Didn't Achieve the Desired Results for Djokovic Novak Djokovic claimed 25 victories out of 36 matches against his longstanding rival Andy Murray. Andy Murray has stated that he "probably failed to achieve the results I would have liked" during his brief tenure coaching his former rival, Novak Djokovic. Murray, who ended his illustrious career at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, became part of Djokovic's coaching setup last November, but the partnership ended 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. "It's a job 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 immensely difficult," Murray noted in an interview. He added, "Novak, like myself, is a challenging character in terms of the way he approaches his tennis, [it] is incredibly rigorous." Reflecting on the Experience In retrospect, Murray conveyed that he is pleased he undertook the role. "It's an amazing 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 due to injury from his contest against Alexander Zverev. Subsequently, 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 regrettable 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 disappointed. 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 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 experienced calf cramps so as not to let down his fellow former world number one—a moment he called "awkward." Reflecting on his own stellar playing career, Murray said he "should have taken more breaks" to relish his successes, including after his two Olympic victories. Opinion About the Tennis Schedule The conversation turned to the current tennis calendar, a topic of concern among top players. Murray, who was plagued by injuries in his later years, had been 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 indicates 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 commented. "When you're more tired, you're more susceptible to pain and discomfort. My view is that's what players are experiencing now, just being away for longer. "I don't think the matches are so much more grueling 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 claimed 25 victories out of 36 matches against his longstanding rival Andy Murray. Andy Murray has stated that he "probably failed to achieve the results I would have liked" during his brief tenure coaching his former rival, Novak Djokovic. Murray, who ended his illustrious career at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, became part of Djokovic's coaching setup last November, but the partnership ended 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. "It's a job 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 immensely difficult," Murray noted in an interview. He added, "Novak, like myself, is a challenging character in terms of the way he approaches his tennis, [it] is incredibly rigorous." Reflecting on the Experience In retrospect, Murray conveyed that he is pleased he undertook the role. "It's an amazing 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 due to injury from his contest against Alexander Zverev. Subsequently, 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 regrettable 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 disappointed. 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 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 experienced calf cramps so as not to let down his fellow former world number one—a moment he called "awkward." Reflecting on his own stellar playing career, Murray said he "should have taken more breaks" to relish his successes, including after his two Olympic victories. Opinion About the Tennis Schedule The conversation turned to the current tennis calendar, a topic of concern among top players. Murray, who was plagued by injuries in his later years, had been 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 indicates 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 commented. "When you're more tired, you're more susceptible to pain and discomfort. My view is that's what players are experiencing now, just being away for longer. "I don't think the matches are so much more grueling 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."