Andy Murray has been very busy at the Miami Open, this time coaching Novak Djokovic as opposed to playing himself.
Djokovic equalled Murray’s 16 Indian Wells appearances earlier this month, but suffered a shock loss to Botic van de Zandschulp in his opener.
But the 24-time Grand Slam champion and his coach Murray recovered at the 2025 Miami Open, with Djokovic winning his opener.
Handed a bye in the first round of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament, he overcame Rinky Hijikata 6-0, 7-6(7-1) in round two.
But along with the performances of Djokovic and his fellow players, the courts at the event have attracted plenty of attention, with the same to be said of Indian Wells.
Andy Murray and Brad Gilbert compare Indian Wells and Miami Open courts
Ben Shelton called the Indian Wells courts bouncy, with the American in agreement with Djokovic in that regard.
Murray has now joined the debate involving the two outdoor hard-court events, with Indian Wells having copied the Miami Open and the US Open by switching from Plexipave to Laykold.
The Scot was involved in a discussion on X with his former coach Brad Gilbert, who most recently coached Coco Gauff.
“Interesting to hear they are saying the courts in Miami this year are playing really quick, last year were slower, IW was much slower this year, back in the day Miami always had the slower conditions of the Sunshine Double,” wrote Gilbert.
Murray responded: “I always thought court surface in Indian Wells slow, high bouncing but ball fast through the dry air. Miami lower bouncing medium pace court but heavy balls due to humidity…”
Gilbert then noted: “Was much cooler in IW this year and new surface felt like was much slower than before, and definitely Miami lower bouncing, IW bounces like high clay court.”
Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray Sunshine Double records
Indian Wells and Miami Open have become renowned on the tennis calendar as the Sunshine Double, with 11 players having won both titles back-to-back.
Djokovic finds himself featuring heavily on that list with four such wins, while he boasts five Indian Wells titles and six at the Miami Open.
His coach Murray didn’t have such success at the tournaments, winning just twice in Miami and losing his only Indian Wells final.
One of those victories came against Djokovic, but the Scot also lost two Miami Open finals to the Serbian.
Jack Draper has already blown his chance of Sunshine Doubles success after losing his opener to Jakub Mensik, but Mirra Andreeva can still achieve the feat.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
