Andy Murray reveals one of most humbling moments of career in ATP Finals clash with Roger Federer - ‘I was playing awful’
Published 15/07/2025 at 11:37 GMT+1
Andy Murray shed light on one of the most difficult matches in his glittering career, in one of his many matches against Roger Federer. Murray suffered a chastening defeat on home soil at the O2 Arena in London almost 11 years ago, in a match which still sticks out in his memory. The Scot also looked ahead at what lies next, and revealed what he learned from his spell coaching Novak Djokovic.
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Andy Murray has recounted one of the most humbling moments of his illustrious career in a match against Roger Federer at the ATP Finals.
Murray reached some incredible heights in his career after winning three Grand Slam titles, and had some epic showdowns, with the London 2012 Olympics singles final - against Federer - arguably the Brit’s stand-out moment.
However, there were also some sobering moments against the Swiss 20-time major winner – none more so than the 2014 ATP Tour finals in London when Murray was beaten 6-0 6-1 in a round-robin match.
He recounted that match in an interview with The Tennis Mentor, highlighting just how difficult it is to win a competition within the sport.
"One of the things with tennis is that it's hard, but with great lessons," Murray explained.
"Most weeks, you finish the tournaments losing. Even the greatest players, if they play 20 tournaments in a year, if they win five of them, that's a great season.
"The other weeks, you're finishing with a loss. But I would say that one of the matches where I was humbled was at the O2 Arena in the World Tour finals.
"I can't remember if it was 6-0 5-0, it was definitely 6-0 3-0 before I won my first game, and it might've been 6-0 5-0 against Federer.
"He was playing great, I was playing awful. It was in front of a home crowd, a huge stadium.
"I think it was the only time in my career when I was hoping to win a game. I definitely felt humbled that day."
Murray's focus is now on coaching after a short-lived and high-profile stint as part of Novak Djokovic's team.
The 38-year-old spoke about the challenges of coaching his former rival and identified where he can improve ahead of his next role.
"I think, first of all, you learn a lot about your weaknesses. I think for a lot of ex-players, it’s very different being a player and a coach, which I expected.
"Obviously, when you’re working with someone at that level, it probably shows up your strengths but also your weaknesses as well, as a coach.
"Something that I would say most ex-players are sort of weak at is the technical side of the game. At times, Novak was looking for quite a lot of technical feedback and it was something that I didin’t really feel comfortable with.
"One, in terms of how to teach somebody technique. I think coaches who work with younger players and are used to doing that are actually stronger than a lot of coaches who work on tour, because once a player is sort of 20, 22 years old, you’re not trying to overhaul their game and technique.
"It’s like little changes here and there. So that was something that definitely, if I was going to coach in the future, I would want to work on and learn from someone who’s very good at that."
When speaking about his next role, the Scot spoke of his preference to work with a young and upcoming British player.
"Yeah, I would [return to coaching] if it was the right sort of project.
"I think I probably enjoy working with a younger player and trying to influence them from a younger age. I want to try to help any of the British players, if they want.
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"I think I would coach again in the future, but I’m just not sure if that will be in the immediate future. I was not planning on going back on the road when Novak called.
"I was not missing tennis and desperate to get back on the road. It was a pretty unique opportunity. I think at some stage I would like to do it again."
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Murray produces vintage winner on the run against Federer
Video credit: TNT Sports
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