Andy Murray has commented that he "probably failed to achieve the results I would have hoped for" during his six-month tenure mentoring his one-time rival, Novak Djokovic.
Murray, who ended his illustrious career at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, joined Djokovic's coaching setup last November, but the collaboration concluded after only half a year.
In his maiden coaching role, the 38-year-old Murray worked with the 24-time Grand Slam champion at the 2025 Australian Open and three other tournaments.
"The role involves 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 extremely challenging," Murray remarked in an interview.
He continued, "Novak, like myself, is a challenging character in terms of the way he goes about his tennis, [it] is extremely demanding."
In retrospect, Murray expressed that he is happy he took on the role. "It's an unforgettable experience that I've had," he said.
During their time together, Djokovic overcame Carlos Alcaraz to make the semi-finals in Melbourne, but was forced to retire injured from his contest against Alexander Zverev.
Subsequently, upon his comeback, Djokovic experienced opening-round defeats in Qatar and at Indian Wells, before falling 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 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."
Murray also disclosed an anecdote 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 disappoint his fellow former world number one—a moment he described as "humiliating."
Reflecting on his own remarkable playing career, Murray reflected he "should have taken more breaks" to relish his successes, including after his two Olympic victories.
The conversation shifted to the present-day tennis calendar, a topic of discussion among top players.
Murray, who was plagued by injuries in his latter career, 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 shows players are getting injured more than before. But I do think players are more tired and mentally more fatigued than they were before because they're spending more days away on the road," Murray explained.
"When you're more tired, you're more sensitive to pain and discomfort. My feeling is that's what players are feeling 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 quantity of time that players are away on the road that's truly an issue."
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