Murray Open To Coaching Return After Djokovic Stint, Says 'I Would Do It Again'

Andy Murray is open to a return to coaching "at some stage" but insisted that he still has plenty to learn about the role. Murray, who retired from tennis at the 2024 Paris Olympics, linked up with long-term rival Novak Djokovic's coaching team last November. 

The pair parted company last month after just four tournaments together, with the 24-time grand slam winner stating he "couldn't get more" out of their partnership. 

Subsequently, Djokovic clinched his 100th ATP Tour singles title by beating Hubert Hurkacz at the Geneva Open in the first tournament after his split from Murray. 

Murray was positive about the time he spent with Djokovic, though, but also stated he had not planned on making the transition into coaching so soon after retiring. 

"I would do it again at some stage. I don't think that will happen immediately," he told BBC Sport's Clare Balding at the unveiling of the Andy Murray Arena at the Queen's Club. 

"I wasn't planning on going into coaching as soon as I finished playing, but it was a pretty unique opportunity. It was a chance to learn from one of the best athletes of all time.

"You also learn a lot about how to work with a team. As an individual athlete, you have a team of people around you, but you're the focal point, whereas when you're coaching an individual, you're working with a physio, physical trainers, agents, and you need to know how to get your message across to the player and find out what makes them tick.

"That was the thing I learned and something I need to work on if I want to do it again in the future.

"It was a brilliant opportunity for me. We got to spend some really nice moments away from the court. Results weren't as we wanted but we gave it a go.

"We'll see about coaching in the future but I don't think that will happen for a while."

While the jam-packed nature of tennis' schedule means focus has already shifted to the grass-court swing, Murray took the time to reflect on Sunday's Roland-Garros epic. 

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner played out one of the best games the French Open has ever seen, with the Spaniard coming from two sets down to defend his title. 

The five-hour and 29-minute epic was also the longest men's singles final at Roland-Garros in the Open Era, surpassing the previous record held by Mats Wilander and Guillermo Vilas in 1982, which lasted four hours and 42 minutes. 

Alcaraz and Sinner have now won seven of the last eight majors, with Djokovic the only other player to win a grand slam title at the US Open in 2023. 

Murray believes Sunday's final is confirmation the sport is in a "great place" and tipped Britain's Jack Draper, ranked fourth in the world, to be part of the success.

"They're both brilliant athletes and very different personalities, which I think for fans is really exciting," Murray said.

"For me, particularly Alcaraz has an exciting brand of tennis to watch, and they complement each other well.

"They've already had some brilliant matches and from what I've been told, it was one of the best finals for a long time. Moving forward, men's tennis is in a great place.

"People always worry at the end of a generation of players what's going to happen with the sport next, but generally sports continue to evolve and, in most cases, improve.

"Jack [Draper]'s right in the mix just now and doing extremely well. He's going to give himself opportunities to win majors over the next five, 10 years."

While showering praise on Alcaraz and Sinner, Murray emphasised that the pair have a long way to go to emulate the success of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic. 

"The sport's in a really good place, but it's important not to forget what the guys have done before them, what Roger, Rafa and Novak have done," he added.

"Winning 20-plus majors is something exceptional, and it's easy in today's age to forget a little bit about that.

"I saw some pundits saying if [Alcaraz and Sinner] went on court against Rafa at the French Open, they would be favourites going into that match with Rafa in his prime.

"Alcaraz and Sinner are on the path to being two of the best, no doubt about that, but it takes time to build what Roger, Rafa, and Novak had. We'll see whether they get that."