Tennis-Murray says coaching stint with Djokovic was learning experience

Audio By Carbonatix

Enlarge

Dec 2 (Reuters) – Andy Murray said his six-month stint as Novak Djokovic’s coach was a valuable learning experience despite a disappointing end after the high-profile partnership failed to yield a title.

Three-times Grand Slam champion Murray joined Djokovic’s coaching team in November 2024 after calling time on his career at the Paris Olympics but the pair ended their association in May, shortly before this year’s French Open.

“I look back on it and I’m glad I did it,” Briton Murray said on The Athletic’s The Tennis Podcast.

“I was fully invested. I had committed to a skiing holiday before I took the job and I explained that to him. But I was sitting there at 11 p.m., watching videos of his matches over in Australia, editing videos to send to him.”

Under Murray, Djokovic beat Carlos Alcaraz to reach the semi-finals at the Australian Open, but the 24-times Grand Slam winner suffered a hamstring injury and retired after one set against Alexander Zverev.

“It was unfortunate what happened in Australia with the injury, but I watched him play ridiculous tennis in that tournament,” Murray said.

“After the injury, it was certainly a difficult few months for him, but also I think for the team and all of us. So yeah, I was disappointed. Probably didn’t get the results I would have liked for him.”

Murray said he would be open to a new coaching role with the experience he had gained during his time with the Serb.

“I think it’s important for a coach to bring good energy,” the 38-year-old added.

“It’s something that if I ever coached again, I would work on and try to do a better job of it.”

(Reporting by Karan Prashant Saxena in BengaluruEditing by Shri Navaratnam)