Andy Murray reveals 'embarrassing' story from his first day working with Novak Djokovic as tennis legend reflects on six-month coaching spell with former rival

Andy Murray has admitted his six month spell coaching Novak Djokovic had got off to an 'embarrassing' start after he cramped on his first day in the job.

Murray was confirmed as Djokovic's coach in a shock announcement last November, with the British star teaming up with his long-term rival just months after announcing his retirement.

The three-time Grand Slam champion worked with Djokovic at the Australian Open, where the Serbian star reached the semi-finals before being forced to withdrew through injury after the first set.

Djokovic then endured a difficult run of form, losing in the first round of four of his next five tournaments, as well as suffering defeat in the Miami Open final.

The short-lived partnership came to an end in May, with the decision to part ways labelled 'mutual'.

Murray, reflecting on the partnership in an interview with The Tennis Podcast, admitted he had been embarrassed on the first day of the job after joining Djokovic's training camp.

The 38-year-old revealed how he had 'cramped' while on a gentle run with Djokovic, just months after he retiring at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. 

'After the tennis session, his physical trainer was like “Novak is going for like a long slow run in the park, would you mind joining him”,' Murray said.

'I was like “oh my god”. I didn’t run since I was like 25, on the court I did but I never did as part of my training. I was like “it is my first day on the job, I can’t say no I’m not doing this”. I was like “yeah, no worries”.

'Bare in mind I had not been staying in great shape since I finished, I’d been doing a bit but not loads. I told them that, and they said “it’s fine, it will be a gentle run”. 

'It was about 50 minutes he was running for in a park, there were a few hills in there, a very slow pace. After about four or five minutes my left calf cramped. 

'I was like “oh no”, but I can’t say anything because this is embarrassing. I finished and completed the 50 minutes, I was in so much pain. When I finished I said to his team “you need to help me out here”.

'I felt like I couldn’t stop, I didn’t want to show to him this is someone I’ve been competing against for such a long time and after five minutes he’s struggling training with me. I did tough it out, but it was a pretty embarrassing moment for me.

'I don’t know what happened whether I had not run for a while, whether I was dehydrated or if it was nerves. It was so slow, it was embarrassing.’

Murray admitted that he had jumped into the deep end when agreeing to coach Djokovic, stating his expectation was that it was 'going to be extremely challenging'.

Djokovic had earned a stunning win over Carlos Alcaraz to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open, but suffered a knee injury during the match.

Murray praised Djokovic for playing 'ridiculous tennis' at the Grand Slam prior to the injury.

'I look back on it and I'm glad that I did it, it is an amazing experience that I've had,' Murray said.

'I've learned a bit, obviously it didn't last that long. I put everything into it that I had, I tried my hardest to help him.

'After the injury it was certainly a difficult few months for him and I think for the team and all of us. I was disappointed we didn't get the results I would have like for him, but I learned a lot about what coaching is.

'Because it was throwing yourself in the deep end, you find out about your strengths and weaknesses as a coach and things you maybe need to work on.' 

Djokovic ultimately reached all four Grand Slam finals during the 2025 season, but the 38-year-old was unable to reach a final as Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner dominated at the Grand Slams.

The Serbian star now faces a major battle in his bid to secure a record breaking 25th Grand Slam title.