Last week Andy Murray took the decision to end his relationship with Spanish coach Alex Corretja following a troublesome run of form since the Australian Open.
“I've had a really good relationship with Alex over the past three years. I have learned so much from being around him and I want to thank him for his hard work, enthusiasm, dedication and support," the Scot made clear in the aftermath of the announcement.
The partnership appears to have ended amicably with Corretja also speaking warmly of his time on the court with Murray. “Helping Andy has been a great experience for me. He's got great talent and he can be one of the best on any surface. I am very thankful to him for his confidence and trust during this time and also to his family and the rest of Andy's team.”
While the pair go their separate ways Murray now knows that he must find a new coach and quickly, but who is the ideal candidate?
Ready to Lendl a hand?
One of the top candidates to replace the Spaniard could be the Czech-born American citizen Ivan Lendl, who won eight grand-slam titles. According to legendary German star Boris Becker, “Ivan was a true modern professional, one of the first players to work so hard on his diet and fitness, and he was so dedicated to his tennis and to winning, so I don’t think he would allow any childish behaviour from Andy. I really wouldn’t recommend, if they do end up working together, that Andy screams at Ivan, in the way he has maybe screamed at other coaches, as Ivan would not put up with that. ” He added in that inimitable Teutonic way of his, “Working with Ivan would be a big wake-up call for Andy.”
The return of Br-andy
Another alternative could be his old coach and former mentor, Brad Gilbert. “You're talking about a very smart and intelligent guy who has incredible experience of the game and has been through what Andy has in terms of early Grand Slam finals. He would garner a lot of respect and he's not someone who would do anything unless he could do it properly," said Gilbert about Andy. The American has already coached other tennis players such as Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick.
The best of the rest
Other possible candidates for the coaching vacancy could be his best friend from Venezuela Daniel Vallverdu or the former British star Tim Henman. Dani has been a regular part of Murray’s Team and has been on various occasions described more as his coach than the Spaniard Alex Corretja. Murray met Daniel nearly 10 years ago when they were juniors training at an academy outside Barcelona (Spain). Tim Henman wants to come back and get more involved in tennis after his retirement in 2007. However Henman is not looking exactly for a coaching role job. “I'm a great supporter of Andy's and wouldn't rule out coaching at some time in the future, but not now," said the Englishman.