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16 months of Brad seems enough for some

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"Here's how you know whether Andy and Brad are getting on," someone in British tennis said recently. "If it's just the two of them, things are fine. But if there's a crowd around, there's a problem."

And so it proved.

In Madrid four weeks ago, 'Team Murray' consisted of Andy, Brad, brother Jamie, mum Judy, agent Patricio, ex-coach Leon, Jamie's coach Louis, Peruvian mate Carlos and Scottish mate Colin. Only two short of a football team.

The clues were there.

In tennis, the player-coach dynamic is critical. The season lasts for almost 11 months and then there's the winter training.

That's a lot of time sharing a court or a dinner table, living in each other's pocket.

I'm not surprised Murray felt the need for change.

Brad Gilbert is a dish best served in small doses. Players need sturdy eardrums and a fair few external hard-drives to record all the information.

A lot of it, of course, is wise stuff. His CV is impressive, his scouting skills are exemplary, he knows tennis inside out and is greatly admired.

But after lasting 17 months with Andy Roddick, he's only survived 16 with Andy Murray. Any coincidence?

Recent evidence suggests a year and a bit in the day-to-day company of the motormouth American is quite sufficient.

The only sadness is that Murray didn't offer the American any words of thanks in his brief statement. He only thanked the LTA for providing the cash. Had the relationship truly soured that badly?

So what happens to Gilbert now?

He's employed by the LTA having been hired in July 2006 on a three-year contract primarily to work with Murray but also to assist other players and bolster coach education.

But his strength is as a one-on-one coach. Will he want to commute from San Francisco to help British juniors and also-ran pros? I don’t think so. The contracts are surely coming out of the filing cabinets as I write.

And as for Murray's future, Louis Cayer is the little-known Canadian who almost certainly will have a prominent role in the new empire.

Murray says he's going to hire a team of experts and Cayer, already on the LTA payroll as a doubles expert, is admired by the British number one and his advisors.

What impresses Murray is his love of analysis and the technical side of the sport.

When he talks about the game, as he does frequently in coaching seminars around the world, Cayer preaches about patterns - patterns of play leading from certain scenarios. A series of tennis what-ifs.

Being a self-confessed tennis anorak, that is right up Murray’s alley.

Cayer doesn't head the betting in the race to replace Gilbert but he'll certainly attract the shrewd money.

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comment by Im_Mortal_1 (U10179224)

posted Nov 19, 2007

"Of course he is capable of beating Nadal in a major tournament,but that to me wouldnt be considered an upset.He will have to beat Federer in a Major to be considererd an upset.
And given his stamina and physical robustness,i dont see that ever happening. To beat federer in a major,u have to be ready to run your lungs out for 5 hours."

No, I think Murray is capable of beating federer in 5 set match, although he will have to win in 3, seeing as he HASN'T got the stamina as you said, but he's not a nadal type player, he can play amazing shots
(Not that Nadal can't, he just doesn't do it often, although i think he is capable of making good shots.)

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comment by Im_Mortal_1 (U10179224)

posted Nov 19, 2007

Intellectual chav:

I think vieraisbest knew that murray was scottish, but 'lazy english' is what murray was called in barcelona (or wherever it was) because he hated endurance training, and seeing as most foreigners aren't aware of scotland's existence...

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comment by U6170180

posted Nov 20, 2007

Coaches - A regular change seems like a good idea. Move to different guys with different strengths etc.

I recall Pat Cash making a point that Federer's game was a mess as he did not have a coach just prior to his first Australian Open win (and 3 slams that year, thank you).

They are not 100% necessary all the time.

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comment by jmb (U1574246)

posted Nov 30, 2007

Miles MacLagan, give me strength...

Murray needs a world class coach, he also needs to be prepared to listen to him and be man enough to admit he has much to learn.

Otherwise he is going to start going backwards at quite a fast pace.

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comment by showaprofit (U9327549)

posted Nov 30, 2007

Murray doesn't need to learn, he needs to develop as a tennis player. He knows how to serve, volley, play a winning backhand, forehand etc. Technically, there is nothing more he has to learn. For him now its improving his stamina and developing the right attitude when he's competing on court. In the case of Andy Roddick and his fall from grace when him and Brad split up, I think its fair to say that Brad "carried" Roddick to success. But I don't think the same is true of Andy Murray.

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comment by Biscuits (U7774523)

posted Nov 30, 2007

Yeah Claggy's really going to help him along. Oh well, at least he'll have someone to carry his bags.

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comment by United Dreamer (U7033999)

posted Nov 30, 2007

"Andy Murray was shocked that his coach was more popular than him... N I guess that was the day that he made up his mind to get rid of BG."

Obviously that must be the reason.doh

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comment by intellectual_chav (U3982700)

posted Nov 30, 2007

Worth a try though right?

Murray's personality, with no disrespect meant in the slightest, because I like the guy, probably suits working with many and varied people.

He seems like a contemplative guy and may like to bounce ideas off others, so constant new input may well be the best way forward.

Maybe he'll get a sport psychologist to help him turn the energy he often wastes venting into game-winning fuel?

One potential problem with the lack of a full-time coach is that it could lead to a problem with discipline.

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