Henman won't seek role with Murray

Published on Wednesday 5 December 2007 00:56

TIM Henman has ruled himself out of joining Andy Murray's support team after the young Scot split with American coach Brad Gilbert.

Murray intends to hire a whole raft of experts to work on specific areas of his game but Henman, just over two months into his retirement, has no wish to be part of the squad.

"If you are going to do something like that, there is a lot of travel involved and that's something I'm enjoying not doing anymore," he said yesterday.

But the 33-year-old is certainly not criticising Murray - who deposed him to become British No 1 - for ending his working relationship with Gilbert. He said: "That's the nature of the beast. These things happen in an individual sport when you are working so closely in an environment.

"Sometimes the lifespan of these relationships is not so long. But I think they did a good job together. They had a great run and it's important to focus on the positives they were able to achieve.

"Andy's made a decision that he wants to go in a different direction, and, as your own boss, that's your prerogative. He's now going to assemble the people around him and hopefully move forward from there."

Henman was speaking at London's Royal Albert Hall where he was playing three-time Wimbledon champion Stefan Edberg in a charity match for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Edberg, who spent most of his career with coach Tony Pickard, also insisted Murray is right to make his own decisions. "We are all different people," he said.

"I was with Tony for a long time but I can understand guys who make changes and try something new to become a better player."