🔗 Share this article Andy Murray Admits He Fell Short of the Wanted Results for Djokovic Novak Djokovic won 25 victories out of 36 encounters 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 six-month tenure mentoring his one-time rival, Novak Djokovic. Murray, who finalized his professional career at the 2024 Paris Olympics, became part of Djokovic's coaching setup last November, but the collaboration ended after only half a year. In his first-ever coaching role, the 38-year-old Murray worked with the 24-time Grand Slam champion at the 2025 Australian Open and three 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 immensely difficult," Murray remarked in an interview. He added, "Novak, like myself, is a perfectionist in terms of the way he tackles his tennis, [it] is incredibly rigorous." Assessing the Experience In retrospect, Murray conveyed that he is pleased he took on the role. "It's an incredible experience that I've had," he observed. During their time together, Djokovic overcame Carlos Alcaraz to make the semi-finals in Melbourne, but was compelled to withdraw with an injury from his contest against Alexander Zverev. Afterwards, 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 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 came away wiser about what coaching is." A Challenging Start and Playing Reflections Murray also recounted 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 fail his fellow former world number one—a moment he labeled "embarrassing." Reflecting on his own successful playing career, Murray reflected he "could have taken more breaks" to relish his successes, including after his two Olympic victories. Opinion About the Tennis Schedule The conversation turned to the modern tennis calendar, a topic of concern among top players. Murray, who was affected by injuries in his latter career, had opposed increasing the number of two-week ATP 1,000 tournaments, saying 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 fatigued and psychologically drained than they were before because they're spending more days away on the road," Murray commented. "When you're more exhausted, you're more vulnerable to pain and discomfort. My feeling 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 amount of time that players are away on the road that's genuinely an issue."
Novak Djokovic won 25 victories out of 36 encounters 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 six-month tenure mentoring his one-time rival, Novak Djokovic. Murray, who finalized his professional career at the 2024 Paris Olympics, became part of Djokovic's coaching setup last November, but the collaboration ended after only half a year. In his first-ever coaching role, the 38-year-old Murray worked with the 24-time Grand Slam champion at the 2025 Australian Open and three 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 immensely difficult," Murray remarked in an interview. He added, "Novak, like myself, is a perfectionist in terms of the way he tackles his tennis, [it] is incredibly rigorous." Assessing the Experience In retrospect, Murray conveyed that he is pleased he took on the role. "It's an incredible experience that I've had," he observed. During their time together, Djokovic overcame Carlos Alcaraz to make the semi-finals in Melbourne, but was compelled to withdraw with an injury from his contest against Alexander Zverev. Afterwards, 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 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 came away wiser about what coaching is." A Challenging Start and Playing Reflections Murray also recounted 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 fail his fellow former world number one—a moment he labeled "embarrassing." Reflecting on his own successful playing career, Murray reflected he "could have taken more breaks" to relish his successes, including after his two Olympic victories. Opinion About the Tennis Schedule The conversation turned to the modern tennis calendar, a topic of concern among top players. Murray, who was affected by injuries in his latter career, had opposed increasing the number of two-week ATP 1,000 tournaments, saying 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 fatigued and psychologically drained than they were before because they're spending more days away on the road," Murray commented. "When you're more exhausted, you're more vulnerable to pain and discomfort. My feeling 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 amount of time that players are away on the road that's genuinely an issue."