Andy Murray wants new coach ‘before Wimbledon’

ANDY Murray is stepping up the search for a new coach to replace Ivan Lendl as he heads into the busiest period of his working year.

Andy Murray: Closer to decision. Picture: Getty

The Scot parted company with Lendl in March but it is only recently that he has had the time to draw up any kind of shortlist of possible contenders.

Taking a short break after the Davis Cup tie in Naples last month, he has since been training hard for the clay court swing that will take him from Madrid to Rome and on to the French Open. After that, he will be pitched straight into the grass court season and the defence of his Queen’s and Wimbledon 
titles.

“I might have to wait a bit,” Murray said of the decision making process. “It depends on how I do in the next couple of weeks. If I do well, I won’t have much time but if I don’t do so well, I’ll have more time to think about it and talk to people. I still hope to have a coach definitely, definitely before Wimbledon but I’d hope before the French Open.”

Living up to Lendl’s legacy is not going to be easy – the two years the pair spent together were the most successful in Murray’s career and brought him two grand slam titles and an 
Olympic gold medal. Any hopeful wanting to work with the Wimbledon champion in the future is going to need an impressive CV but, even so, Murray has a few ideas in mind.

“I don’t want to go into any names because that would cause me a lot of stress over the next week or so, a lot of questions. So I won’t go into that,” he said. “But it’s something I did start to think about a lot the last couple of weeks. Hopefully I’m getting closer to making a decision in the next month or so.”

With John McEnroe recently suggesting he would jump at the chance to coach Scotland’s finest – and the bookies tipping anyone and everyone from Bob Brett to Marcus Buckland, the Sky TV tennis presenter – there are plenty of possibilities for Murray to consider (although Mr Buckland may not be one of them). But time is of the essence if he wants to have someone in place before Wimbledon.

Meanwhile, Murray’s brother Jamie and his Australian partner John Peers defeated Britons Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins 6-4, 6-2 in the final of the BMW Open in Munich.