Breaking News: Andy Murray reveals worst part about coaching Novak Djokovic that left him in ‘so much pain’ on Day 1
Andy Murray has revealed that he was left in an “embarrassing” position on his very first day as Novak Djokovic’s coach. The multi-Grand Slam champions sent shockwaves through the tennis world last year when they announced that Murray would begin coaching his old rival, Djokovic, just months after ending his own career.
Their partnership lasted six months, highlighted by a run to the Miami Open final and the Australian Open semi-finals, where Djokovic beat Carlos Alcaraz. But Murray has revealed that arguably one of the hardest days on the job came on day one, when he was asked to go for a run with the 24-time Grand Slam champion – and started cramping almost immediately.
Appearing on the Tennis Podcast, Murray recalled: “After the tennis session, his physical trainer was like, ‘Oh, Novak is going for a like a long, sort of slow run in the park later, would you mind joining him?’ I was like, oh my god. I didn’t run since I was about 25. On the court I did, but I never ran as part of my training.
“I was like, it’s my first day on the job, I can’t say no, I’m not doing this. I was like, ‘Yeah, no worries, I’ll do that’. Bearing in mind that I hadn’t been staying in great shape since I finished, I’d been training a bit but not loads. I told him that I’ve not trained much. He was like, ‘It’s fine, it’s going to be a gentle run.
Anyway, I went and I think it was about 50 minutes he was running for. It was in a park, kind of up quite a few hills in there. Very slow pace. But after about four or five minutes, my left calf cramped. And I was like, ‘Oh no’. But I can’t say anything, it’s embarrassing, after four or five minutes. I finished, I completed the 50 minutes and I was in so much pain.”
Although Murray didn’t want his old foe to know how difficult it had been, the Brit did inform the rest of Djokovic’s camp. “When I finished, I said to his team, ‘Guys, you need to help me out here. I’ve been running for 45 minutes, my left calf cramped while I was there’,” he continued.
I felt like I couldn’t stop, like, I didn’t want to show to him, oh my god, 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, embarrassing moment for me.
“That run should not have been a test; it was so slow, we would have all been able to complete it. I don’t know what happened, if it was just because I hadn’t run or a long time or I was dehydrated or nerves or whatever. It was so slow, and it was embarrassing.”
Murray couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work with one of his biggest rivals – and a man he dubs one of the greatest athletes – when Djokovic called him just months after he retired at the Paris Olympics. But the former world No. 1 wouldn’t get back into coaching anytime soon following their six-month stint, and is now enjoying his time at home.
