Sky Sports Interview, April 2026
Andy talking about how it was easier to be happy for Jamie's wins than his own, about how golf hasn't replaced tennis, about how he could have retired five years earlier if he'd played only for the results, about Novak probaly learning nothing new during the coaching stint while he himself learned a lot, about how Novak absolutely has another Slam in him and about enjoying the fact that Sinner and Alcaraz get along.
Summary and partial transcript under the cut.
while talking about Jamie's retirement he mentions that many times he was enjoying Jamie's results more than his own, bc his own results came with pressure, whereas he could just be happy for Jamie; he always followed Jamie's scores but hated watching him and is convinced that every time he watched Jamie live he lost
says he played terrible golf the day before, and promply gets asked about a video of a spectacular golf shot: "that's the great thing about instagram, is that you don't see [laughs] all of the... almost 100 shots that I hit yesterday, but you can post the good ones."
his handicap is now down to 1...
golf hasn't replaced the competitive side of tennis for him because he doesn't miss the competition itself, it's more about the routine and the practicing (BUT he does want to start playing more golf competitions)
"You know I could have retired, like four, five years earlier if the only reason you play a sport is, for, like, the results, essentially. I know it's a result business and everyone wants to win, but, you know, I kept playing tennis for as long as I could because I loved it. I loved the training, I loved the travelling, I loved the competition, and I could still do that at a really high level, just not at the level that I was used to, after the hip operation. So that was hard mentally but yeah, the reason why I was continuing to play was because I loved it. And I know that at the end - and this is why I think that I don't miss the sport as much or like, have tons of regrets, is because I left when I was ready to and my body was telling me it was time. So I'm really happy about that."
he gets a bit irritated by people who ask him about missing tennis and then almost seem disappointed that he doesn't miss it (it's because they miss you, Andy, and want their feelings reflected, is it so hard to believe that people might miss you...)
"a lot of the achievements that I had - when I was playing I didn't think that much off them, I wasn't that impressed by it, and, you know, it was just... that was what I was doing [...] when I looked back at my career I was very proud of what I managed to achieve in a very difficult era. I got to play against the three best male tennis players of all time"
"but now, on a day to day basis I never think about tennis anymore, I don't think about my tennis career unless it's something I'm asked about"
Ā [asked about what him and Novak learned during the coaching stint] "He probably learned nothing [laughs] but I learned a lot."
"And to be honest I would coach again. Probably not right now. [...] I don't really want to do loads of travelling right now, unless it's with my family."
āI learned quite a lot, more just about coaching ā I knew loads about his game. Iād played against him for years and studied his game. Um. You know, it was interesting to see what his day to day looked like in comparison to what I might have been doing and how those things differed, that was interesting. But from a coaching perspective, like, just about how you have to communicate your message to the player that youāre working with and, you know, how to listen to them. I really think that having kids has helped me with that, like, learning to be more understanding and seeing something from another personās point of view and perspective. But I felt like I learned that a bit for coaching, you know, how to work with a team. When youāre like, the focal point of it as a player, all the team are working for you, whereas when you`re part of a coaching team, and youāre just part of that, small part of that, trying to help an individual do the best they can. You know, thatās different. And his team is also made up with people from lots of different backgrounds, different cultures, and different personalities and stuff, so you know, I learned a lot about that as well.ā
āAlso you understand your flaws. Youāre getting thrown in at the deep end, working with, you know, someone as great as he is. So, you know, also shows up some of the things that you probably need to improve on as well, if you want to be a great coach.
[asked whether Novak āhas another major win in himā]Ā [emphatically] āI think that he does. The difficulty, I think, when you get to the age that heās at is that, if you play too much tennis, you risk injury, potentially, or not being fresh for the majors, which, obviously you need to be. But then if youāre not competing enough and your body is not sort of, match-hardened, and ready to play seven matches across two weeks. It is also difficult, very difficult, physically and, you know, like, last year, made the semis at all four majors but I think hadā¦ heās definitely had three injuries during those events. And, you know, thatās the balancing act. It has to be a perfect preparation with enough match play, enough training. And then yeah, you could see still, at the Australian Open this year and last year with the results that he had, beating Alcaraz, beating Sinner, that he still, you know, still has the potential to do it.
[about the Sinner-Alcaraz domination] āI think itās gonna be really interesting to see what happens because theyāre both obviously amazing players, quite different stylesā¦ they both seem to be really really good people and seem to really like each other as well, which is nice ā I personally think itās really nice to see. [ā¦] Thereās a huge gap I think between where they are and the guys behind them but you never know. There could be an 18, 19 year old, 17 year old out there that in the next couple of years is of their level
[about whether he lives in a competitive household] āYeah it is quite competitive. When they start playing sports and stuff with one another they do fight and fall out and argue but on the whole theyāre good. Right now, I donāt really want much more than that, just now. [ā¦] Right now Iām really enjoying being at home with them. And I do various other things as well, but not really anything that keeps me away from them for more than a couple of days at a time.ā
