Andy Murray takes a dig at Novak Djokovic: “If I’d known that earlier…”

According to Andy Murray, who coached Novak Djokovic from November 2024 to May 2025, the Serbian tennis star has an Achilles’ heel. “While coaching him, I discovered that he isn’t as mentally strong as he seems,” the Scot said on the podcast ‘Served with Andy Roddick.’ “Before matches, he questions everything. We’re used to thinking he’s the most mentally strong athlete. He is, but he also has a lot of doubts. I would have challenged him with more confidence if I had discovered Djokovic’s doubts and vulnerabilities sooner.”

Murray’s revelations come at a time when Djokovic’s decline now seems undeniable. At the 2026 U.S. Open, the Serbian was eliminated in the first round by Argentine Mariano Navone, ranked 49th in the world, following an epic battle lasting 4 hours and 36 minutes, which ended with a score of 7-6(5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. For Djokovic, this was his first first-round loss at a Grand Slam in twenty years: the last time it happened was at the 2006 Australian Open, against Paul Goldstein. A statistic that mercilessly captures the end of an era.

Djokovic’s absence, combined with Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal due to a right knee injury and Carlos Alcaraz’s still-uncertain return after more than four months on the sidelines, turned the season’s final Grand Slam into one of the most wide-open and unpredictable tournaments in recent years. This situation has fueled the hopes of American tennis players, who are particularly fired up at the idea of winning on home soil for the first time since Andy Roddick’s triumph in 2003. But it didn’t turn out that way…

Novak Djokovic has won 24 Grand Slam titles, a milestone that ranks him among the greatest players in tennis history. He is also the only male tennis player to have won each of the four Grand Slam tournaments at least three times, demonstrating an extraordinary ability to adapt to all surfaces. Over the course of his career, he has won 10 Australian Opens, triumphing in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2023. At Wimbledon, he has lifted the trophy seven times: in 2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2022, and 2023.

At the U.S. Open, she has won 4 titles, in 2011, 2015, 2018, and 2023. On the clay courts of Roland Garros, however, he has won three titles, in 2016, 2021, and 2023. His 2023 victory in Paris allowed him to complete the career Grand Slam for the third time, an unprecedented achievement in men’s tennis.