New coach to take Andy Murray to the top?
Andy Murray has ditched another coach in a bid to win Grand Slam titles and gain the world No. 1 ranking, a decision that means there’s no doubt about his expectations for Miles Maclagan’s successor, whoever that may be.
Almost eight months into 2010, Murray remains title-less and still in search of a maiden Grand Slam crown. As of this week, he’s coach-less too, after cutting Maclagan adrift in a bid to attain the success he craves.
Success that Maclagan, who was Murray’s coach for two-and-a-half years, came very close to helping the world No. 4 attain as he oversaw his rise into the top 10, and was in charge when in mid-2009 the counterpunching baseliner attained a career-high ranking of world No. 2. Oh, and it was Maclagan who coached Murray to two Grand Slam finals – at the 2008 US Open and the Australian Open this year.
However, after starting 2010 in scintillating form at the Australian Open, then suffering the heartbreak of losing the final to Roger Federer, Andy Murray’s year has been indifferent at best.
At its lowest ebb, Murray was obliterated by Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber at the Monte-Carlo Masters, winning just three games in the second-round match (the Scot’s first of the tournament after receiving a first-round bye) before the British No. 1 clawed his way back into form in time for Wimbledon, where he reached the semi-finals only to be stopped dead in his tracks by the red-hot Rafael Nadal.
The last six months aside, however, Maclagan’s not done a bad job.
But he now joins Britain’s current Davis Cup captain Leon Smith, who coached Murray in his junior days; Pato Alvarez; Mark Petchey; and Brad Gilbert (a former coach of Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick) on the growing list of coaches who have fallen by the wayside as the 23-year-old aims for the top.
In the wake of Maclagan’s departure, Darren Cahill is one name that has already been linked with Murray as a possible coach, but with a statement on the player’s website saying Murray will review the situation after the US Open. He’s set head to Flushing Meadows without the services of a full time coach, although Alex Corretja is expected to continue his part-time coaching consultancy role, which he commenced during May, in the lead-up to the year’s final Grand Slam.
Cahill would certainly fit the bill for Murray, with past charges including Lleyton Hewitt at the point where he won his first Grand Slam title as well as Agassi. Then again, Gilbert had a similarly star-studded coaching past when he arrived at team Murray, but the arrangement didn’t last the distance.
Murray’s got a big decision to make in the next few weeks, but this much is clear: whoever he chooses to take him forward in the next stage of the career will be expected to take him all the way to the top.
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