Why Roger Federer 'stopped' practicing with Andy Murray and 'never' trained with Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic
Updated 14/12/2025 at 15:44 GMT
Andy Murray explained the complications of practicing with the 'Big Three' during his career, revealing why Roger Federer "never" trained with Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. Speaking on the Stephen Hendry Cue Tips YouTube channel, Murray also picked his favourite moment in a career which encompassed two Wimbledon triumphs, a US Open, and a gold medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
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Andy Murray explained why Roger Federer stopped practicing with him early in his career, and why the Swiss 20-time Grand Slam champion "never" trained with Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
Despite their heated on-court rivalries, top tennis players typically practice together outside of major tournaments - as demonstrated by the top two of the modern era, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
Murray, too, said he enjoyed playing with Djokovic and Nadal in order to "see where my game was at," but speaking to seven-time snooker world champion Stephen Hendry on the Stephen Hendry Cue Tips YouTube channel, revealed why he was not able to do so against Federer.
"I would practice with them, I’d practice with Djokovic and Nadal," Murray said. "When I first started, I would practice with Federer. But after a year or two he stopped, he wouldn’t practice with me anymore.
"He never practiced with Djokovic or Nadal, I think because he considered them to be a competitor."
Murray added: "I like practicing with them just because it gave me the chance to see where my game was at.
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"I wouldn’t practice with them a couple of days before a big match, but a couple weeks out from a major tournament, then I would practice with those guys.
"I was never going for dinner with them. Whereas now I’d love to do that, see them a few times socially."
Federer came off marginally better than Murray in their head-to-head record, taking 14 victories from their 25 meetings.
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It was a fierce on-court rivalry which encompassed three Grand Slam finals - each won by Federer - and an Olympic gold medal match, which Murray won at London 2012.
Murray explained why it was difficult to be close to another rival at the top of men's tennis.
"Generally, if I’m socialising with friends and family, you want to feel like you can tell them if you’re struggling with something," Murray said. "But if you’re competing against them, you wouldn’t do it."
Hendry drew parallels between Murray's experiences and his in snooker, saying the likes of Ronnie O'Sullivan and Judd Trump would distance themselves from the other top players on tour.
Djokovic's warm-up quirk
In a high-profile but ultimately short-term coaching partnership, the now-retired Murray worked alongside Djokovic last year in a bid to make the Serbian the all-time record Grand Slam winner.
Currently tied on 24 major titles with Margaret Court, Djokovic's search for the elusive 25th repeatedly hit the stumbling block of the semi-finals last year - with Alcaraz and Sinner dominating the field.
Murray and Djokovic worked together for six months, and when comparing his cue action to his tennis swing, the three-time Grand Slam winner revealed some insight into Djokovic's warm-up routine.
"A two-handed backhand, you use that left hand a lot," Murray said. "Djokovic, when I was helping him, with all the sessions, he’d start just using his left hand warming up."
In an interview with The Tennis Podcast in December, Murray said he was ultimately "disappointed" by the results during his partnership with Djokovic, but spoke of his enjoyment of the "amazing experience".
Djokovic was perhaps Murray's fiercest rival, with the pair contesting 36 matches during their careers. One of which was the iconic 2013 Wimbledon final, as Murray claimed his first of two titles at the All England Club with a straight-set victory.
Asked to pick his favourite moment between the pair of Wimbledon triumphs, his US Open victory in 2012 or his Olympic Games gold the same year, there was little hesitation in Murray's response.
"Gold medal in London," he said.
He pointed to Djokovic's emotional victory over Carlos Alcaraz in last year's Olympics final to highlight how much it means for players, despite some questions over whether it should be included in the Games.
"A lot of tennis players don’t think tennis should be in the Olympics because it’s not considered the pinnacle," he said. "But Djokovic won the Olympics in Paris, and if you go and see how he reacted to winning that in comparison to any of his Grand Slams, he was significantly more emotional.
"All the tennis players who have won Olympic golds, [it is] the most amazing thing, but a lot of people don’t think it should be part of it."
Asked if there was a lot of pressure for the 2012 Olympics, Murray said: "Less so than Wimbledon.
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"In my career I’ve played 15 or 16 Wimbledons, but the Olympics you get very few chances at and never going to get another chance at a home Olympics either.
"It’s just a totally different atmosphere, in the whole city really. Everyone is so loving, it was flags everywhere, totally different crowd than usual, because the tickets were for the general public, not as much corporate seating. So loud."
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