BREAKING: Tennis Fans Left Furious as Andy Murray Is Hit With a Dirty Blow After Producers Removed Him From the Djokovic Documentary Without His Knowledge
Novak Djokovic’s new documentary, The Wolf in Winter, has already created a lot of discussion among tennis fans, but one detail surprised journalist Ben Rothenberg more than most.
The film, directed by Jason Hehir, looks at Djokovic’s life and career and also spends time on the 2025 Australian Open. That period was unusual because Andy Murray, one of Djokovic’s biggest rivals for many years, had just become his coach.
Murray and Djokovic were born only a week apart and first met as juniors. They later played 36 times on the ATP Tour, including seven Grand Slam finals, with Djokovic winning 25 of their meetings. Murray, however, beat him in two of the biggest matches of his career, the 2012 US Open final and the 2013 Wimbledon final.
That long history made their coaching partnership one of the most interesting stories of the 2025 season. It is also why Rothenberg was amazed by how little Murray appears in the documentary.
Rothenberg reveals Murray did not know he had been left out
In his review of The Wolf in Winter, Rothenberg pointed out that the 39-year-old is barely seen and is never properly heard in the film, despite the documentary spending time on the 2025 Australian Open.
The American journalist later revealed another surprising part of the story. After seeing an early screening of the film, he met Murray in Washington and asked whether the former world No. 1 had decided not to take part.
According to Rothenberg, Murray did not know that he had effectively been left out. The production had interviewed him for around an hour, meaning there was clearly material available that could have been used.
That makes the decision even more curious. Murray was not simply a former rival who happened to be around Djokovic at the time. He was part of the Serbian’s team in Melbourne and was sitting in the coaching box during one of Djokovic’s most talked-about runs at the tournament.
Their partnership had started in November 2024, only a few months after Andy ended his playing career. Djokovic reached the Australian Open semifinals with the experienced Brit in his corner and produced one of his best wins of that season when he defeated Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.
Murray later admitted that coaching Djokovic was more demanding than he had expected.
“I enjoyed certain parts of it,” he said. “I enjoyed the matches. I liked sitting at the side watching matches from a different perspective.”
The three-time Grand Slam winner also pointed out that he enjoyed preparing tactics and analyzing opponents, but found himself doing too much work away from the court.
“It was a good experience that I learned a lot from, but I found it hard, found it demanding,” he said.
Djokovic and Murray stayed on good terms after the split
The partnership did not last for a long time. Djokovic and Murray ended their work together in May 2025 after around six months.
There was no public argument between the two. Djokovic stressed that they had simply reached a point where they felt they could not get more from the partnership on the court.
“Thank you, coach Andy, for all the hard work, fun & support over last six months on & off the court. I really enjoyed deepening our friendship together,” Djokovic said after the split.
The former world No. 1 was also thankful for the chance, calling it an “unbelievable opportunity” and wishing Djokovic well for the rest of the season.
Their relationship goes much further back than those six months. They competed against each other from their teenage years, shared some of the biggest stages in tennis and were two of the central figures of the era dominated by Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
For that reason, Murray’s limited presence is likely to stand out to fans who remember how important he was in Djokovic’s career. They met in four Australian Open finals alone, and the British star was for years one of the few men capable of regularly troubling the Serbian on the biggest stages.
Rothenberg’s criticism does not mean the entire documentary disappointed him. In the public part of his review, he described the production as high-budget and said it left him both impressed and disappointed. His main issue was that, despite giving viewers a lot, it still left him wanting more.
The Murray decision is probably the clearest example of that feeling. A former rival, friend and coach was interviewed for around an hour, yet viewers barely get to hear from him.
Djokovic is now preparing for another US Open campaign after an early Cincinnati exit. The men’s singles draw will be revealed on August 27, with main-draw singles play beginning three days later on August 30 in New York.
