Andy Murray believes he has a lot to learn about coaching but he leaves the Australian Open having enjoyed his first experience working with Novak Djokovic in Melbourne.

“I always knew I would enjoy coaching,” he said. “I never thought otherwise, but there’s things I’ve learned that was maybe a bit different than what I expected.

“There’s certainly areas I will need to get better at, for example, the technical side of the game. As a player, I would understand the basics, but not extremely well like some very experienced coaches.

“Some of the guys I’ve worked with over the years have been very strong in that area.”

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Five months after retiring at the Paris Olympics, having spent much of the time since then playing golf, Murray was thrown into the deep end over the past few weeks as he and Djokovic spent much of the Australian Open getting to know each other and their perspectives on the sport while also preparing Djokovic for a grand slam.

Although he has more to learn about the technical side, he enjoyed preparing Djokovic for matches and strategising with his team. “The ex-players generally would be quite good with strategy and understanding the psychology and stuff having played,” Murray said. “But there’s lots of other areas to coaching I need to learn about. There’s certain things I’ve really enjoyed about it.”

While some coaches and former players describe watching as more difficult than playing, Murray does not agree. “It’s definitely harder playing, that’s for sure,” he said. “I would dispute people that say it’s harder watching from the sides. I know how stressful it can be out there.

“I felt a lot of nerves in the buildup to the matches, but when I was watching it I felt like I was able to switch that off. I felt calm at the side and was watching trying to do my job at times. At the end of the match with Alcaraz or important moments, you feel the nerves and things, but not to the same extent when you’re playing.”

Djokovic enjoyed a good tournament when he was physically capable of performing well, reaching the semi-finals with an incredible victory over Carlos Alcaraz despite a muscle tear in his thigh but he was forced to retire from his match against Alexander Zverev due to the injury.

After the Alcaraz victory, Djokovic walked over to his team box to hug Murray, which he later described as a gesture of thanks for Murray’s work and support during the tournament.

“It was a cool moment,” said Murray. “Everyone was pretty pumped after the match and considering how he was feeling. But then the way he played, it was unreal tennis. Incredible performance.

“I was surprised when he came over because we’d sort of celebrated after the match point. But he was just pumped with the win and how he played and that he’d come through. It was a nice moment.”

Djokovic was full of praise for Murray but it is not yet clear if their partnership will continue. They had always planned to trial their coaching partnership through the tournament and then decide on their future plans. After a positive experience together, they have to decide what happens next.