Murray was speaking on the “Served with Andy Roddick” podcast, recorded at the Laver Cup Fan Zone outside The O2 on Saturday. He grew up on tour with Nadal and Djokovic, spent time at Nadal’s academy in Mallorca and hit balls with them in the build-up to almost every major of the 2010s. The friendship stopped at the practice court.
“I grew up with Rafa and Novak; Rafa is one year older. So I used to practice with them a lot,” Murray told Roddick.
“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. But I do regret that a little bit, not socialising a little bit more with those guys.”
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Why the dinners never happened
He explained why.
“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,” Murray said.
“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.”
The question he put to Federer’s coach
Murray’s relationship with Federer was different again. He hit with the Swiss as a teenager, and then one summer the invitations stopped coming.
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“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,” Murray said.
“I actually asked his coach a couple of days ago why that happened. I was like, did he not like me? What was it?”
“I haven’t asked Roger; I’m seeing him later, so I’ll ask him.”
Murray’s record inside that era
Murray retired at the Paris 2024 Olympics after a doubles defeat alongside Dan Evans to Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul, ending a career that stretched from teenage prodigy to elder statesman of the Big Four. He won three Grand Slam singles titles inside the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic years: the US Open in 2012 and Wimbledon in 2013, both against Djokovic, and Wimbledon again in 2016 against Milos Raonic. His two Olympic singles golds, in London 2012 and Rio 2016, remain a record no other man has matched.
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The Laver Cup finished at The O2 in London on Sunday, with Team Europe reclaiming the trophy. Murray said in the podcast he intended to put his Federer question to the Swiss over the weekend.
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