Andy Murray admits one regret about his relationship with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic

But his poor record in major finals isn’t what Murray regrets most about his time with the ‘Big Three’. Instead, it was his off-court relationships with Djokovic, Federer, and Rafael Nadal…

Andy Murray regrets not socialising with the ‘Big Three’ more when they played

Appearing as a guest on the ‘Served with Andy Roddick‘ podcast during the Laver Cup, Murray opened up about one of his biggest regrets regarding the three greatest players of all time.

Which player do you think will perform the best at the Laver Cup this year?

And who do you think will win – Team Europe or Team World?

“I grew up with Rafa [Nadal] and Novak [Djokovic]; Rafa is one year older. So I used to practice with them a lot. I trained at Rafa’s academy a little bit, and I love 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,” said Murray.

“But I do regret that a little bit, not socialising a little bit more with those guys. I sort of feel like you should be able to, but it is also difficult.

“If you’re sitting having dinner with one of them before a major, you want to be able to be honest and chat with people. If you’re feeling bad about your forehand, or your back is hurting, I’m not going to tell those guys right before you play them. It’s tough.”

Murray kept his distance from the ‘Big Three’, as he battled his rivals for some of the sport’s biggest titles. He regrets not closing that distance, but recognises that’s easier said than done.

Had he been closer to Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic, he might not have had that extra edge he needed. Federer certainly understood the importance of maintaining that edge over his rivals.

Roger Federer stopped practicing with Andy Murray because he didn’t want to give anything away

Murray mentioned that he practiced with Nadal and Djokovic throughout his career, but what about his relationship with Federer? The British star remembers training with Federer when he was younger, although that didn’t last forever.

“With Roger, at the very beginning of my career, I practiced with him quite a lot, and then when I was about 20, he didn’t want to practice with me anymore,” said Murray.

“I actually asked his coach a couple of days ago why that happened. I was like, did he not like me? What was it? He said, ‘No, that wasn’t the case. He felt like he didn’t want to give anything away to Rafa, Stan [Wawrinka], or myself, or people he felt he might be competing against at the end of big tournaments’. That’s what his coach told me! I haven’t asked Roger; I’m seeing him later, so I’ll ask him.”

Federer’s decision had Murray second-guessing whether he’d upset the Swiss star, but it was a tactical masterstroke. Federer won five of six Grand Slam meetings with Murray, including three major final wins.

Roger Federer and Andy Murray’s Grand Slam H2H

Had Federer continued training with Murray as he did in his younger years, perhaps the Briton would have learned a thing or two that might have helped reduce that head-to-head deficit. Instead, Federer defeated Murray in three Grand Slam finals.

Perhaps that’s why you don’t see top players like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner train together. They, too, are cautious about giving too much away ahead of big matches.

As it turns out, Alcaraz and Sinner have only met once this year, in Monte Carlo, but could face off at the Shanghai Masters. The 2026 Shanghai Masters begins on October 7.

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