Andy Murray opens up on coaching Novak Djokovic

Former tennis star Andy Murray has pulled back the curtain on what it was like coaching Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open in January.

The announcement that the pair would be working together for the year’s first Grand Slam came as a surprise, considering Murray only retired from professional tennis in mid-2024.

Now, the two-time Wimbledon champion has revealed that working with his long-time rival was both rewarding and challenging.

“I enjoyed certain parts of it,” Murray said.

“I enjoyed the matches. I liked sitting at the side watching matches from a different perspective.

“I enjoyed the analysis, and preparing and planning, the strategy and everything.

“I really liked that, but I also found it very demanding.

“I’m obviously very inexperienced as a coach, so there’s lots of things that, when you’re a player, you don’t realise that coaches are thinking about and having to do.

“I’m a poor communicator, something I’ve always struggled with.

“When you’re part of a team and you’re kind of leading the team, it’s really important that you are communicating well with people and giving them clear direction.

“I think I did an okay job with that, but I found it hard, I found that very demanding.”

Murray’s coaching debut was widely viewed as a success in Melbourne, with Djokovic upsetting No.3 seed Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.

Most tennis betting sites had him as favourite to defeat Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals, but a torn hamstring forced the Serbian to retire after one set against the German.

Murray said his primary focus at the tournament was to shine light on the aspects of Djokovic’s game that used to trouble him personally as a player.

“We spoke about that quite early on in the first few days when we were working with each other,” he said.

“When I was playing against you and you were doing this, it was so hard to play against for these reasons.

“I was more trying to emphasise the positives of when he’s playing well, this is what it looks like and this is what it feels like for the player down the other end.

“It’s always one of those things I found as a player that you never know the speed of your own shot, the speed of your ball.

“What impact is it having on the guy on the other end? What are they feeling?

“You can have that conversation obviously with your coaches, because sometimes you hit the ball with your coaches.

“I do think it’s sort of a unique perspective that I have on Novak’s game.

“I’ve competed against him in the biggest matches on the biggest stages over a 10, 12-year period.

“I’ve studied his game a lot, but also experienced what it was like to play against him and practice with him.”

Djokovic and Murray are reported to have extended their partnership until after Wimbledon this year, though neither has officially confirmed this yet.

Tennis bookmakers have the 24-time Grand Slam champion on the third line of betting for the next two majors, paying +450 for Djokovic to win the French Open and +400 to claim his eighth Wimbledon title.