Novak Djokovic has conceded that his coaching partnership with Andy Murray “didn’t work” in his first comments since the two parted ways.
It was announced last week that Djokovic and Murray would no longer be working together, following a short-lived partnership that was first announced towards the tailend of 2024.
Anticipation for the player-coach partnership between the two former rivals was high, but the Serbian was unable to find consistent form with Murray as his coach.
Djokovic reached the Australian Open semi-final back in January, defeating Carlos Alcaraz in the last eight, though was forced to retire injured in his semi-final versus Alexander Zverev.
Another highlight for Djokovic under Murray’s guidance was his run to the Miami Open final, the 37-year-old ultimately beaten by Jakub Mensik in the final.
Despite solid runs in Melbourne and Miami, it has been an underwhelming season for the Serbian elsewhere, losing his opening match in four of seven events so far in 2025.
The announcement of the split came off the back of Djokovic’s opening-match exit to Matteo Arnaldi at the Madrid Open, after which he then withdrew from the Italian Open.
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In a bid for matches ahead of the French Open, the 24-time Grand Slam champion has taken a wildcard into the Geneva Open.
Djokovic’s campaign at the ATP 250 event begins on Wednesday and, speaking ahead of his campaign, he revealed that he thought he and Murray “could not get more” from their partnership.
“There is nothing more to say than what you read in the announcements,” said Djokovic. “We said that it will not be long-term, but let’s see how it goes.
“Australia was a test, then Indian Wells and Miami, on clay we went tournament by tournament. We felt that we could not get more out of this cooperation.
“I respect him even more now that I’ve gotten to know him as a person. He has a brilliant tennis mind, a rare view of tennis, but we didn’t reach what we both hoped we would, in terms of results.
“That’s it, we tried, it didn’t work.”
Djokovic will hope to discover some much-needed form in Geneva, with the second Grand Slam of the year at Roland Garros just days away.
The Serbian is the second seed at the tournament and begins his campaign on Wednesday against world No 134 Marton Fucsovics, an opponent he holds a perfect 5-0 record against.
Djokovic also took a wildcard into the event back in 2024, reaching the semi-final before a three-set loss to Tomas Machac.
After his Geneva campaign, Djokovic will then head to Paris for the second Grand Slam of the year, searching for a record-extending 25th major title.
The Serbian triumphed at Roland Garros in 2016, 2021, and 2023, and reached the quarter-final in 2024 before he was forced to withdraw from his clash with Casper Ruud due to injury.
The post Novak Djokovic issues Andy Murray ‘respect’ verdict in first comments since coaching split appeared first on Tennis365.
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