Borg Pegs Murray as Future No. 1

No pressure or anything.

From The Times: Borg backs irrepressible Murray to end British grand-slam drought

During his pomp as the first tennis player to be fêted as a cross between a pop star and a Viking god, Björn Borg’s default setting was always flatliner calm, so it was a surprise to hear him in such demonstrative mood. A man who fell out of love with tennis at 26 and was considering selling his Wimbledon trophies this year has had his excitement rekindled — and the reason is Andy Murray.

Since he hung up his headband for the first time in 1983, the Swedish legend has kept a low profile, concentrating on an often awkward private life that has involved two divorces, a stomach pump and near financial meltdown. Now he is coaching young players in Sweden again and is enamoured by the Scottish prodigy.

Murray Gets Hair Cut for Charity

You have to love off-season tennis news, don't you?:) 

The best quote comes from Murray's manager: "I think the new look is better. It's clean and sort of tightened up. But I don't know if it will improve his tennis or not."

From The Scotsman: Game, set and thatch to Murray

SCOTS tennis star Andy Murray was on the receiving end of a volley of praise yesterday as he had his distinctive curls chopped off for charity.

After asking his fans to pick a new look for him in an online poll, more than 13,000 chose a shorter look - rejecting options including an all-over "No 4" or of Murray continuing to cut it himself with nail scissors while bored.

Murray, 19, yesterday afternoon presented himself at Sejour, off Sloane Square in London, to go under the scissors to raise money for Children in Need.

The Quarters in Montreal and Cincy

The men: Andy Murray looked dead out there against Robby Ginepri yesterday, but he still made it through to face Andy Roddick. You just know that Brad Gilbert would love for Murray to give his old charge a smackdown, but I think Murray's too tired to do it. The match is at 8pm so maybe Murray will have a chance to find his legs again.

JC Ferrero v. Nadal, Robredo v. Ljubicic; and Ferrer v. Gonzalez are the other matches. Here's Friday's Order of Play.

Here are a wrap of yesterday, player interviews, audio interviews and an audio wrap.

The women: Today's marquee match is Martina Hingis v. Svetlana Kuznetsova. Jelena Jankovic and Nicole Vaidisova pulled out of Montreal yesterday; Ana Ivanovic and Dinara Safina will play today as well.

Here's Thursday's wrap and here are video highlights. Here's Friday's Order of Play.

Murray def. Federer in STRAIGHT SETS!

Yep. Federer looked flat out there from the start and Murray broke him a ridiculous amount of times (7). Huge feather in the cap of coach Brad Gilbert; and a serious breakthrough for Murray, who definitely held his own out there. The kid's got game. Here's a match review.

This is Roger Federer's first straight set loss in something like 190 matches (l. to Kuerten at 2004 French Open in 3rd round)... just OH MY GOD.

Wherever he is, Sean Connery just had a stroke. So did the rest of Great Britain.

More links to come. Jaw to stay open for a couple of days, I think.

ETA AUDIO: Murray Interview, Clip 1 and Clip 2; Federer, Blake, Baghdatis and more.

Meanwhile the defeated Federer claimed to feel no disappointment at not having the chance to try and break Lendl's record, set in season 1981-82.

"No, I'm not (disappointed)," he said. "There's no reason to be because I'm on an incredible run.

"You always expect a loss once in a while. So when it happens, why be disappointed if I win over 90% of my matches."

And the 25-year-old also predicted tournament success for Murray this week - provided he can keep his level of performance up.

"He could. I think he's playing well. He's definitely got to still improve many things," Federer added.

"He played a good match today. Youngsters play good on the day. If they play good for the entire week, that's the other question."

Read 'Murray: I Can Be the Best'

*AP Photo/Al Behrman.

Two Good Murray, Gasquet Articles

Gasquet eyes another upset of Federer in final
Choice quote: Win or lose, Gasquet, who last year was called "spoiled" and "a little weird" by fellow competitor Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia, hopes his strong showing will fuel his momentum for the upcoming U.S. Open.

LOL. You can always count on Ivan for a bitchy frank quote.

And: Murray Bandwagon Blows a Gasquet

Fed vs. Baby Fed for the Rogers Cup

Well, we couldn't have Fedal, but I'll take Gasquet and Federer trading beautiful backhands anyday.

First, Gasquet took out a tired Andy Murray yesterday in straight sets, with a masterful display of his all-court play. You get the feeling that in the next few years as the young guns develop--all of whom have and want more versatile games than the Hewitts and Roddicks of yesteryear--tennis is only going to get much, much more interesting. Power has been tamed, folks. The all-court game is back.

Speaking of which, Fernando Gonzalez has been working on diversifying his options--witness his backhand slice--and the dividends are clearly paying off. After being blown off the court 6-1 in 20 minutes, Gonzo shrugged it off and played some spectacular tennis for 2 sets. Roger did have a few hiccups (as he usually does) and it was good to see a third straight opponent force Roger to dig in and beat him. Bravo, Gonzo! (And bravo, Malisse and Tursunov!) Here's a match review.

Here are audio interviews with Federer, Gasquet, Murray and Gonzalez, an audio wrap of the day, and video highlights.

Brandy II

Murray on Gilbert:
"I knew he was a great tennis coach," Murray said. "When we first met, I was trying to speak, and he kept butting in. It's good for me right now to have someone with a strong personality."

Man I just love this pairing! I wish they'd do a reality TV show.

Murray on Agassi:
"(Agassi) is the guy I liked growing up," Murray said. "He had great character. I don't remember specific tournaments, but I do remember Andre having the long hair and denim shorts with pink bicycle shorts underneath. He's done a lot for the sport."

Yes, Andre's done a lot of things for the sport, but pink spandex is not one of them.

Read 'Gilbert coaching teen Murray, over firing by Roddick' /ETA: Gilbert gets to grips with Murray

Gilbert Redux: Roddick, Agassi, Murray

The Guardian has a fascinating article about Brad Gilbert, with juicy tidbits about his varied career: For example, an "ESPN insider" says Gilbert has "an ego the size of Centre Court"--which is amusing to me because ESPN seems littered with football field-sized egos.

Also, Agassi credits him for his career-defining French Open win:

In 1999 Agassi found himself two sets down to Andrei Medvedev in the French Open final when rain stopped play. He returned to the locker room for a pep talk with Gilbert and emerged a different player, going on to take the match in five sets to become one of only five men to win all four grand slams. "It was maybe the biggest win I ever had and I won it because of Brad. His advice during that rain delay was the difference," said Agassi. "He knows the right thing to say at the right time."

And the Guardian says in no uncertain terms what most of us already know about the Roddick relationship--but who knew it was this bad?:

Andy Roddick went from being a tactical dunce to having enough court sense to win the 2003 US Open and become world No1 under Gilbert's tutelage. When they split acrimoniously in December 2004, Roddick quickly reverted to type. He will not talk about Gilbert but their enmity remains, so much so that Roddick did not conduct interviews in ESPN's studio during the French Open and Wimbledon if Gilbert was on the premises.

Yikes. I'm really dying to know what their falling out was about; anyone have an idea?

Read Gilbert talks a good game if Murray cares to listen

Gilbert Pulls Strings, Murray to Hit with Agassi

Gilbert and Murray will begin working together this week, and Gilbert's already got a plan. He's got a fitness trainer lined up to attack Murray's notorious physical fitness issues, and he's got Agassi set to hit with his new charge.

Read Agassi template set for Murray / Coach enlists Agassi to make Murray work

Brad Gilbert Wrap

Here are a couple of stories on supercoach Brad Gilbert.

In the Gilbert zone: New challenge for man who inspired Agassi
"You don't deserve to be on the same court with me," McEnroe told him during a change of ends. "You are the worst!"

The opponent was Brad Gilbert, a player who maximised his limited talent like no other. His 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 victory prompted an utterly frustrated McEnroe to take a break from tennis. "When I start losing to players like him I've got to reconsider what I'm doing even playing this game," McEnroe said.

Gilbert, a bits-and-pieces player who got under opponents' skin by denying them the chance to play their own game, went on to reach a career-high No 4 in the world three years later. Read On...

Also: 'Ugly' Era Begins for British Tennis

Andy Murray Biographilia

No wonder Andy Murray's planning to write a memoir; there are already 2 books out on him. Two 250+ page books on Andy Murray. Yep.

Guess he figures he might as well cash in on his life story, too, right? Here are Andy Murray: The Story So Far... and Andrew Murray: Wonderboy.

The Sunday Times on Murray and Gilbert

Well, it's a done deal, and actually includes more than just coaching Murray. The Sunday Times UK's piece has a nice look at Brad's history with Agassi and Roddick, too.

Murray Will Learn to Win Ugly
Andy Murray finally has a new coach and British tennis a strong inspirational force after Brad Gilbert, never previously known as a man to use one word when several hundred will do, said yes to a £500,000-a-year offer from the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA). Read 'Win Ugly'

Andy Murray Biography in 2007...WTF?

Yep, Andy Murray's gonna write a memoir, to hit the stores right after Wimbledon next year. And yep, instant (British) bestseller. Perhaps he will finally open up about the Dunblane school shootings. Otherwise, WTF will he have to say? One of those ATP player vignettes should cover it.

Andy Murray and Brad Gilbert

These two are about to make an announcement it seems. Gilbert is heading over to Eastbourne in a few days.

Gilbert looks primed to put name to Britain cause

Brad Gilbert to Coach Andy Murray

This'll be interesting, especially since Gilbert has said often that he thinks drop shots are cop outs; Murray loves 'em. In any case, I'll be one of the 2 or 3 people out there who will miss Gilbert's commentary for ESPN.

'Done deal' for Gilbert to coach Murray

Style & Fashion at Wimbledon

On and off the court, the Men Rule
Nice bits on Federer's Prada-Nike jacket, Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray's style.

Wimbledon Round of 16 Review: The Men

Biggest Letdown: Murray v. Baghdatis didn't live up to its billing: Murray (News/Posts) played like a loose cannon; Baghdatis (News/Posts) was solid and won in straight sets. Here are Baghdatis' interview / Murray's interview /Jimmy Connors' breakdown of the match.

Closest Shave: Nieminen v. Tursunov. Finn Jarkko Nieminen took the first two sets; an extremely surly Tursunov (News/Posts) almost willed deja vu, coming back from 2 sets down as he did against Ljubicic in the 3rd round. Nieminen finally closed it out 9-7 in the 5th. Here are a match summary / Nieminen's interview / Tursunov's interview.

Roger Federer (News/Posts) had a routine win over Tomas Berdych, and Rafael Nadal (News/Posts) took out Irakli Labadze and his beer gut in straight sets.

Federer Match Review / Federer Interview / Nadal Match Review

Lleyton Hewitt (News/Posts) took out Spaniard David Ferrer in 4 tough, clay courtish sets; Mario Ancic (News/Posts) edged Novak Djokovic (News/Posts) in 5; Jonas Bjorkman took out his doubles partner Max Mirnyi in 5, and Hingis' boy toy Radek Stepanek took out Fernando Verdasco in 5. Here's a round up of all of these.

Some great tennis on the men's side today!

Day 6, Wimbledon: Murray d. Roddick

Murray d. Roddick 7-6 6-4 6-4

This was a full scale dismantling. Andy Murray (News/Blog Posts) has got excellent instincts and superb all court play, and he just strategically dissected Andy Roddick (News/Blog Posts) (I was loving those delicate lobs!)--without a coach. It was a real pleasure to watch Murray today, and he even broke out a quarter of a smile at the end of the match, which is about all you're going to get. Now I just hope Sean Connery gets his butt on a plane and comes out like last year. Though Andy's filled out a bit , he's still got that in media growth spurt, scarecrowish teen boy sense about him, and looks like he'd be all elbows. But he moves "like a cat," as (I think) Cliff Drysdale said.

Poor Andy Roddick. James Blake (News/Blog Posts) is now the number 1 American, and Andy will be out of the top 10 by the end of Wimbledon. Grass has always been his staple; we'll see if this blow affects his US Hardcourts swing, where he ruled (he won the US Open Series last year) before his shock first round exit at the US Open.

Here's a match review /a really great match article / Roddick's Interview / Murray's Interview.

Wimbledon Blogs: Andy Murray, Bryan Brothers

Somehow I missed Andy Murray's blog. If you did, too, here you go.

Bumped in to Dimitry Tursanov before I went on to court. His blog on ATP site has the most hits behind Nadals French Open blog. He thinks he’s a bit of a comedian now so I’ve made a bet with him that my blog gets more hits than his. So keep reading so I can take the money off the Rusky!!

Cute!

The Bryan Brothers are doing a really nice job with their Wimbledon blog. Take a look if you haven't already. For some reason their ice baths and newly patented butt bump are very amusing:

During the match today we brought out a variation of the chest bump. We did the reverse - a butt bump. We've been seeing some copy catters out there take off our chest bump so it's good to have something different in the bag. After we broke serve we just had a sense what the other was thinking and we did a 360 - or is that a 180? - and did a butt bump.

Wimbledon Day 6 Super Saturday

Agassi (News/Blog Posts) v. Nadal (News/Blog Posts) and the battle of the Andys on Center Court.

You really can't ask for much more.

Nadal and Agassi have only met once before--Rafael egded Andre in (best 2 out of) 3 for the Masters Shield in Toronto last summer. You can bet that Agassi will have some extra motivation to get revenge before it's too late. Here's a short video recap of their first match up, with interviews.

Andy M. (News/Blog Posts) vs. Andy R. (News/Blog Posts) should be a classic... Roddick's got extra incentive to win it, almost as a point of honor, but also because of those, oh, 700 points he's defending from last year's final. This is Murray's opportunity to really declare himself as a comer and with all the hometown support (despite the World Cup debacle, which has escalated quite ridiculously; nice to see non-Americans acting the fool), this is his best shot to date--no matter what he says about his game being more suited to other surfaces.

I'm really looking forward to Lleyton Hewitt (News/Blog Posts) v. little Ollie Rochus (News, Blog Posts), Seb Grosjean v. Marcos Baghdatis (News/Blog Posts)and the battle of the big hitters Dinara Safina (News/Blog Posts) v. Ana Ivanovic (News/Blog Posts), too.

Andy Murray: Men Deserve More $

Murray on the Wimbledon equal pay problem: “I don’t think it’s fair that the women get paid the same as the guys [in other tournaments],” said Murray. “Because if you look at it, the guys have the potential to play a five-and-a-half-hour match. A lot of women can win the first three or four rounds having dropped no more than four games."

It's no secret that many of the early round women's matches are a joke. And I think Murray's  "Less Pay for Less Work" point is well taken. But...one could argue that you don't pay more to watch "The Fellowship of the Ring" than to watch "The Little Mermaid" just cuz it's twice as long. Where are you on the issue?

Read "Murray Adds Fuel"

Federer the Aesthete

This is an excellent article from The Observer on The Rajah (or TMF?), with a funny contrast with Andy Murray.

Choice quote: If there is a blemish, perhaps it is Federer's failure to assimilate the idea of a killer instinct in quite the same way as Nadal has. Federer can give the impression that it is better to lose beautifully than win ugly.There was a hint of this a fortnight ago in Paris...

I can see this, though Federer won ugly for two straight weeks at the Australian Open. I don't recall any of those matches being Federer-fluid (though there were a couple of magical love sets, IIRC.)

But anyway, do you think the article's right about Roger? I must say it made me realize how much I would have loved to see Federer v. McEnroe in his prime. Can you imagine Macaroni's (Nastase's nickname for Mac) annoyance with the immaculate presence that is Federer?

Wimbledon Draws are Out!: The Men

And ouch, what a draw it is. Federer's basically got most of the high-end grass courters in his quarter. Gasquet in the first round, or for all you Gasquet fans (myself included), Gasquet's got Federer. Roger could face Timmy Henman in the second round, and Tommy Haas, who just gave Roger trouble in Halle, in the 4th round. Red hot Mario Ancic and iron-serve Ivo Karlovic are at the bottom of Federer's quarter. Nalbandian or Blake in the semis. Sure, you can't bet against Roger, but wow, this is a tough draw.

Nalbandian's draw looks pretty straightforward until Blake in the quarters, but Poor Andy Roddick (and Marat Safin) are in Lleyton Hewitt's section. Andy Murray's in there, too.

Agassi's in Nadal's portion of the draw, so is Feliciano Lopez, his buddy and Wimbledon housemate who made the quarters last year (first Spaniard in 33 years to do so). F-Lo has been having a dismal year and drawing Ivan Ljubicic in the opening round won't necessarily help matters.

ETA: Player Reaction to the Draw

Murray Mound, Bond and the World Cup

Remember how Henman Hill was rechristened Murray Mound at last year's Wimbledon? How Sean Connery did the wave and shat his pants in the VIP box? Here's a look back at those heady times.

Murray and Connery are both stereotypical Scots--ornery, headstrong and passionate about their Scottish (i.e. not English) identity. Yes, the Scots have had a hate-hate relationship with their English conquerors for, ohh, a couple of centuries, but I was still amused to see this in Tony Blair's June 6 press briefing:

Asked to explain the situation concerning the Prime Minister's car sporting England flags, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister would give his support in his own way, in his own time. People should be in no doubt that the Prime Minister fully supported the England team, as indeed would his spokesman despite his origins.

Asked if the Prime Minister was disappointed that some individuals such as Sean Connery and Andy Murray had said they would support any team other than England, the PMOS said it was a matter of individual choice. The important thing was that Tessa Jowell had clearly indicated the Government's view yesterday.

Apparently there was a "tartan media frenzy" over World Cup warnings against "anti-English racism," and Murray et. al. weighed in against the "auld enemy."

Come on, guys, the Battle of Culloden was over 200 years ago.

*photo from scotsman.com

Update on this Week's Tournies

Nottingham: Defending champ Richard Gasquet KO'd  countryman Gilles Simon in 3 and 1; Italian Andreas Seppi beat Andy Murray in 3; Robin Soderling, who has yet to drop a set, over Tipsarevic in 2,  and Bjorkman over Lopez.  I'm gonna go with Gasquet to repeat his win.

At the Ordina Open, Men's, it'll be defending champ Mario Ancic v. Marcos Baghdatis (making his first semi since Australia) and  Jan Hernych vs. Forent Serra (who took out JC Fererro in 3). The women: Elena Demetieva, Danilidou, Dinara Safina and Michaela Krajicek. I'm going with Ancic and Safina.

Eastbourne: It'll be  Henin-Hardenne vs. Clijsters and Kuznetsova v. Myskina. I'm going with Kuznetsova over Henin-Hardenne in the final.

Ivanisevic on Murray, Nadal, Wimbledon

Goran talks about his Wimbledon run, Rafael Nadal, Tim Henman, and Andy Murray. Choice quote:

Ivanisevic ... thinks criticism of the 19-year-old Murray's sometimes surly behaviour and level of fitness, blamed for his physical problems, is unreasonable.

'It's easy to criticise,' says Ivanisevic. 'In Britain, as soon as you do something good and then start to play a little better they give you shit. He's young and is going to have ups and downs. When someone's not playing too well you can find a hundred mistakes, but when he's playing good he's perfect. It's very easy to find mistakes.'

Read the article.

*Photo from http://www.goranonline.com/

Queen's Club Transcripts

Hurray for Queen's Club! Not only is Stella Artois a great beer, they've also put up a great website. They've got full transcripts of post-match interviews (as well as audio clips). Here are Rafal Nadal after defeating Mardy Fish, Lleyton Hewitt and Mark Philippoussis on their wins, Andy Murray on getting the early boot, Andre Agassi after the loss to Henman, and defending champ Andy Roddick on his 3-set scare.

And here's the archive.

Agassi, Murray Out in First Round

Proud Agassi admits to doubts about Wimbledon fitness
Andre Agassi crashed out as he played his first grass-court match in two years on Monday, then admitted that his tentative comeback effort from back problems at Queen's club might affect his Wimbledon preparation.  Read On...

STELLA DEFEAT 'NO WORRY' FOR MURRAY
Andy Murray slid out of the Stella Artois Championships at the first hurdle today but insisted he would lose little sleep over his defeat to impressive Serb Janko Tipsarevic. Read On...

Andy Murray: The Big Interview

Another good one. Choice quote:

Confession: I had no wish to interview Andy Murray. No offence to Fred Perry (his sponsor) or Judy (his mum) or Willie (his dad) or Jamie (his brother) or Dunblane (his home) or Patricio (his manager) or Kim (his girlfriend) or to 6ft 1in tennis prodigies around the world, but there had to be at least eight good reasons to avoid the feisty Scot.

1. Murray is 19. When did you last meet a 19-year-old with an interesting view on anything? Shouldn’t we postpone this for at least 10 years?

2. When Murray was eight, a crazed Thomas Hamilton entered the gymnasium at his primary school in Dunblane and began shooting at the teachers and pupils at random. Murray found refuge with some classmates in the headmaster’s study and had to wait two hours for the nightmare to end. Some of his friends lost brothers and sisters, but it’s the one subject he refuses to discuss in interviews. How can I ignore such a huge incident in his life? Read the Interview

Nalbandian Vs. Gasquet: 2nd Round

This will be today's marquee match up. Yesterday, you had your pick of that heartbreaker for Marat Safin against Fernando Gonzalez or the battle of the morose teens between Gael Monfils and Andy Murray. Nalbandian should cruise due to Gasquet's recent lack of form, but you can never discount the power of a home crowd and Gasquet's beautiful backhand.

Some Good Andy Murray Articles

Andy Has the World at His Feet
Extensive thoughts from Henman, John McEnroe, Federer, Monfils, Jeremy Bates and Rudeski on the UK's Great Scottish Hope from The Scotsman.

Murray's Tour de Force
Nice profile of Andy's exciting past year, with thoughts on playing his buddy Gael Monfils in the first round of the French Open from The Scostman.

And a pair of pieces on Murray's coaching woes:

Murray: 'Petchey had to go before things dragged on too long'

Queue is forming to coach Murray

Wayne Ferreira to Coach Andy Murray?

It seems he's in the running.

Laureus Loves Tennis: Roger, Rafa and Martina Win

It's been a big day for tennis on the world stage. The Laureus Sports Awards were held today in Barcelona and tennis was a big winner.

Roger Federer, Martina Hingis and Rafael Nadal took home awards: Federer won Sportman of the Year for the second year running; Hingis won Comeback of the Year over a field that included Kim Clijsters; and Nadal won Newcomer of the Year over surly Scot Andy Murray. Other nominees were the Croatian Davis Cup team for Team of the Year and Wheelchair Tennis star Esther Vergeer for Disabled Sportsperson of the Year. Clijsters was also nominated for Sportswoman of the Year.

Here's an article with more info.  Also, check out photos of Nadal, photos of Federer, and photos of co-host Boris Becker at the show from Getty Images.

ETA: Hmm, apparently quite a few tennis luminaries showed up. Here are photos of Ilie Nastase, photos of Monica Seles, Martina Navratilova, and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario .

Henman and Murray Ad

At least we know Tim Henman has a sense of humor.

From The Daily Record: Sorry Old Bean, It's Tim To Go

HE'S officially Britain's top ennisstar- and yesterday Andy Murray proved he's also an advertiser's dream.

In February, the Scots teenager replaced English hero Tim Henman as Britain's top tennis player.

And yesterday, the two got together for an ad for Robinson's Barley Water.

Murray's Mom Gives Clay Court Advice

From the BBC: Patience and control

...Andy left Scotland to train outdoors on clay at the Sanchez-Casal Academy in Barcelona when he was 15, and that experience helped him improve his technique because you have to play many more shots.

It also improved his court craft - with more time to hit the ball, shot selection has to be spot on as weak shots are often punished.

His time in Spain also improved his strength, speed, discipline, consistency and concentration...

Andy Murray Coaching Watch

From The Times: Murray Eyes up Latin quarter

WHEN the time comes to encourage or congratulate himself, Andy Murray’s choice of language is significant. “Vamos” is the most common cry, and therein lies the biggest clue as to where the young Scot will look for the coach to guide him to the next level of his tennis career...

However, any desire for a radical change in approach, which might be forthcoming from respected shot mechanics such as Brad Gilbert or Bob Brett, would not be warmly received. Petchey found that disagreeing on tactics can result in a swift termination of employment...

Bollettieri Offers to Work With Murray

I suppose the Andy Murray camp should be flattered that tennis people are announcing to the media that they would be interested in working with Murray.  First Pat Cash, now Nick Bollettieri.  But I don't see this one working out.

From The Independent: Nick Bollettieri: How my pyramid team could help put Murray on top

Andy Murray has the potential to become one of the world's best players, and if he wants to use my 50-plus years of experience in the game - including developing and coaching Grand Slam winners like Andre Agassi and Maria Sharapova - then bring it on. I believe I can help Andy fulfil his potential.

I'm not putting myself forward to be his next coach, in terms of the guy who will work and travel with him on a week-to-week basis, as Mark Petchey did until Andy parted company with him last week. But in today's game, the top players use not just one person, but a team. And I have something to offer as part of a team, a wider set-up.

Murray's Coaching Situation

Andy Murray found a good way to avoid answering questions about who his next coach will be during his Monte Carlo press conference today:

Q. Any thoughts about a new coach?

ANDY MURRAY: Tim (laughing).

TIM HENMAN: I don't think he could afford me (smiling).

Petchey Responds

Mark Petchey was a perfect gentleman in responding to his firing by Andy Murray.

From Sporting Life: Petchey: I saw Murray split coming

Petchey told Sky Sports 1: "I have to say although it only happened in the last couple of days I'm not completely surprised.

"All I can say is we were talking a lot this year about his best way to play and perform consistently against the best players in the world so he could reach the top 10 as quickly as possible.

Pat Cash Weighs in on Who Should Be Andy Murray's Next Coach

From The Sunday Times: Murray can hit heights but needs good man in his corner

The locker-room grapevine is rarely wrong and word had been circulating that all was not well between Murray and Mark Petchey...

At the age of 18, he needs to find a coach he can stick with for at least five years because I believe he has the potential to be winning Grand Slam titles within no more than three. But he should not rush and if it means a couple of short-term appointments to get him through the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, then so be it.

Brad Gilbert and Bob Brett Take Themselves Out of the Running in Andy Murray Coaching Derby

Brad Gilbert says he likes life as an ESPN announcer.  “I don’t lose matches any more — I just get paid to make lousy predictions. It’s a nice life,” said Gilbert.

And Bob Brett says the role of the full-time traveling coach is no longer for him. “I did 25 years of travelling 40 weeks a year and I don’t have that time any more.”

Details in The Times: Murray facing critical choice

Andy Murray Dumps Coach

You gotta love the way famous people try to time these surprise annoucements for when no one will notice.  Andy Murray issued his "I'm firing my coach" statement on Good Friday.

Keeping in mind that the true reasons a player fires a coach don't usually come up until some time has passed, here's some of the speculation:

1. Tennis strategy - Murray believes his game is to play from the baseline, but Coach Mark Petchey was convinced that Murray needed to work on developing a more attacking, net-rushing style of play.


2. Scheduling - Petchey had the final say in determining Murray's schedule, and Murray didn't care for the schedule that Petchey decided on.

So now a new parlour game begins in Britain - who should be Andy Murray's new coach?

Andy Murray Davis Cup Outburst

This is definitely the funniest article on Andy Murray's Davis Cup outburst this weekend.  From The Times: Yes,