Andy Murray Reveals One Shocking Regret About Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic
Andy Murray revealed he regrets not socialising more with Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic earlier in their careers. The three-time Grand Slam champion is a member of the ‘Big Four’ of tennis that dominated the sport for over 20 years.
Countless classic match-ups and gruelling final battles between the quartet defined a generation for tennis as they drew in a new audience. However, the Scotsman, 39, opened up about one regret he has from competing against his fellow icons of the game. Murray appeared on Andy Roddick’s Served podcast at the Laver Cup, touching on how he managed the interpersonal relationships with his rivals.
Murray told the former US Open champion: “I used to practice with them a lot. I trained at Rafa’s academy a little bit and I loved training and practicing with those guys, but I never socialised with them. I never went out for dinners with them or did any of that stuff. I do regret that a little bit, like not socialising a little bit more with those guys.”
Despite rueing the lack of social interactions he had with the trio, the two-time Olympic champion admitted that having such a relationship with them would have been tricky. He explained: “I sort of feel like you should be able to, but it is also difficult.
Like if you were sitting having dinner with one of them before a major event, you want to be able to like chat and be honest with people. And like if you’re feeling bad about your forehand or your back’s hurting or there’s something going on, I’m not going to tell that to those guys right before you play them. So tough one, because in generations past a lot of them got on.”
Murray has since enjoyed a warmer relationship with Nadal, Federer and Djokovic since retiring from the sport in 2024. The last seven years of his career saw his play hampered by a lingering hip injury that first started to appear at the end of the 2016 season – the greatest calendar year of Murray’s career.
He ended the campaign as world No. 1 after defeating Djokovic in the ATP Finals, but admitted to Roddick that he made one mistake on his way to becoming the top player in the sport. Murray said: “The only week in that period that I regret was the week after the Olympics in Brazil, because, again, one of the things when you finish and reflect on, is there is a lot of bad times in tennis, a lot of tough losses in big matches, that I wish I enjoyed the good times more.
“When I won the Olympics in Rio, rather than celebrating with my team and stuff, we jumped on a plane after doing drug testing and the media, and took a flight to Cincinnati to play on the Tuesday or the Wednesday. I don’t think I should’ve done that.
He added: “Winning a gold medal is a big deal for me, and I certainly regret making that decision. But the rest of the tournaments during the year, no, I ended up winning, I think from the US Open to the end of the year, every event, but that was my only chance to get to number one.
“And at the end of that year, and even around the US Open, Olympics time, I was already starting to have quite big issues with my hip. My hip was on its way out, so if it hadn’t happened then, getting to number one would never have happened, so I’m glad I did it.”
After his quarter-final exit at Flushing Meadows, Murray went on a tear and won five straight titles in Beijing, Shanghai, Vienna, Paris and at the ATP Finals.
