🔗 Share this article Murray Admits He Didn't Achieve the Targeted Outcomes for Djokovic Novak Djokovic secured 25 wins out of 36 matches against his longstanding competitor Andy Murray. Andy Murray has revealed that he "probably didn't get the results I would have hoped for" during his brief tenure guiding his former rival, Novak Djokovic. Murray, who ended his illustrious career at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, joined Djokovic's team last November, but the collaboration concluded after only half a year. In his maiden position as a coach, 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. "It's a job 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 continued, "Novak, like myself, is a demanding individual in terms of the way he approaches his tennis, [it] is incredibly rigorous." Assessing the Experience In retrospect, Murray stated that he is glad he undertook the role. "It's an incredible experience that I've had," he said. During their time together, Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz to advance to the semi-finals in Melbourne, but was compelled to withdraw due to injury from his contest against Alexander Zverev. Afterwards, upon his comeback, Djokovic suffered early exits in Qatar and at Indian Wells, before falling 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 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 came away wiser about what coaching is." A Challenging 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 "awkward." Reflecting on his own remarkable playing career, Murray admitted he "should have taken more breaks" to enjoy his successes, including after his two Olympic gold medals. Opinion About the Tennis Calendar The conversation turned to the present-day tennis calendar, a topic of discussion among top players. Murray, who was plagued by injuries in his latter career, had opposed 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 suggests players are getting injured more than before. But I do think players are more weary 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 susceptible 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 grueling 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."
Novak Djokovic secured 25 wins out of 36 matches against his longstanding competitor Andy Murray. Andy Murray has revealed that he "probably didn't get the results I would have hoped for" during his brief tenure guiding his former rival, Novak Djokovic. Murray, who ended his illustrious career at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, joined Djokovic's team last November, but the collaboration concluded after only half a year. In his maiden position as a coach, 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. "It's a job 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 continued, "Novak, like myself, is a demanding individual in terms of the way he approaches his tennis, [it] is incredibly rigorous." Assessing the Experience In retrospect, Murray stated that he is glad he undertook the role. "It's an incredible experience that I've had," he said. During their time together, Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz to advance to the semi-finals in Melbourne, but was compelled to withdraw due to injury from his contest against Alexander Zverev. Afterwards, upon his comeback, Djokovic suffered early exits in Qatar and at Indian Wells, before falling 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 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 came away wiser about what coaching is." A Challenging 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 "awkward." Reflecting on his own remarkable playing career, Murray admitted he "should have taken more breaks" to enjoy his successes, including after his two Olympic gold medals. Opinion About the Tennis Calendar The conversation turned to the present-day tennis calendar, a topic of discussion among top players. Murray, who was plagued by injuries in his latter career, had opposed 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 suggests players are getting injured more than before. But I do think players are more weary 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 susceptible 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 grueling 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."