🔗 Share this article Andy Murray Admits He Fell Short of the Desired Results for Djokovic Novak Djokovic claimed 25 victories out of 36 matches against his longstanding competitor Andy Murray. Andy Murray has commented that he "probably fell short of the results I would have wanted" during his short-lived tenure mentoring his past rival, Novak Djokovic. Murray, who ended his illustrious career at the 2024 Paris Olympics, became part of Djokovic's coaching setup last November, but the partnership concluded after only half a year. In his first-ever position as a coach, the 38-year-old Murray teamed up with the 24-time Grand Slam champion at the 2025 Australian Open and several additional 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 anticipation was that it was going to be immensely difficult," Murray said in an interview. He continued, "Novak, like myself, is a demanding individual in terms of the way he tackles his tennis, [it] is incredibly rigorous." Assessing the Stint Upon reflection, Murray conveyed that he is happy he accepted the role. "It's an amazing experience that I've had," he observed. During their time together, Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz to reach 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 early exits in Qatar and at Indian Wells, before losing 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 recalled. "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 let down. Probably didn't get the results I would have liked for him. But I gained valuable insight about what coaching entails." A Challenging 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 endured calf cramps so as not to let down his fellow former world number one—a moment he labeled "awkward." Reflecting on his own successful playing career, Murray said he "should have taken more breaks" to savour his successes, including after his two Olympic victories. Perspective Regarding the Tennis Calendar The conversation shifted to the modern tennis calendar, a topic of discussion 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, believing the increased time on the road would negatively impact players. "I don't think there's anything that suggests 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 stated. "When you're more fatigued, you're more vulnerable to pain and discomfort. My view is that's what players are sensing now, just being away for longer. "I don't think the matches are so much more taxing 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 competitor Andy Murray. Andy Murray has commented that he "probably fell short of the results I would have wanted" during his short-lived tenure mentoring his past rival, Novak Djokovic. Murray, who ended his illustrious career at the 2024 Paris Olympics, became part of Djokovic's coaching setup last November, but the partnership concluded after only half a year. In his first-ever position as a coach, the 38-year-old Murray teamed up with the 24-time Grand Slam champion at the 2025 Australian Open and several additional 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 anticipation was that it was going to be immensely difficult," Murray said in an interview. He continued, "Novak, like myself, is a demanding individual in terms of the way he tackles his tennis, [it] is incredibly rigorous." Assessing the Stint Upon reflection, Murray conveyed that he is happy he accepted the role. "It's an amazing experience that I've had," he observed. During their time together, Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz to reach 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 early exits in Qatar and at Indian Wells, before losing 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 recalled. "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 let down. Probably didn't get the results I would have liked for him. But I gained valuable insight about what coaching entails." A Challenging 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 endured calf cramps so as not to let down his fellow former world number one—a moment he labeled "awkward." Reflecting on his own successful playing career, Murray said he "should have taken more breaks" to savour his successes, including after his two Olympic victories. Perspective Regarding the Tennis Calendar The conversation shifted to the modern tennis calendar, a topic of discussion 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, believing the increased time on the road would negatively impact players. "I don't think there's anything that suggests 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 stated. "When you're more fatigued, you're more vulnerable to pain and discomfort. My view is that's what players are sensing now, just being away for longer. "I don't think the matches are so much more taxing 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."