Is Andy going backwards?
AMELIE UNDER FIRE AFTER O2 FLOP
JOHN McENROE picked his words carefully yesterday as he co n s i der e d Amelie Mauresmo’s tenure as Andy Murray’s coach but his sentiments were clear.
‘ I would not call it a roaring success, that would be the simplest way of putting it,’ said the American as he assessed the first five months of the pair’s groundbreaking arrangement.
‘ That doesn’t mean t hat it shouldn’t be given more time. When I played Ivan (Lendl) recently he said that for these things it needs a year or two. So if that’s true you’ve got to give her more time — if people believe that.’
Whoever came after Lendl was going to find that he cast a long shadow — we might call it David Moyes syndrome — but you had to wonder on Thursday night whether Murray would have capitulated so badly against Roger Federer if the gnarled old Czech had been in his corner.
Getting just one game off the Swiss master was an illustration of just how much ground he has lost against the supreme trio of players who rule the men’s tour.
Federer is not even the best any more. Novak Djokovic proved that title belongs to him yesterday when he thrashed Tomas Berdych 6-2, 6-2 to guarantee both the year- end world No 1 slot and his place in today’s semi-finals of the Barclays ATP World Finals.
Murray will not be watching if he takes McEnroe’s advice to rest up after the rigours of qualifying for the O2, which likely contributed to some flat performances.
‘If I was his coach I’d have him take a break,’ said the American. ‘He has played too much, he is on the verge of burn-out, I’d assume.
‘If he learns anything from Roger, it would be to forget that match. Roger is magnificent at forgetting devastating losses. He shrugs it off and moves on.’
Murray will try to do that with Mauresmo in the off-season, but if he thought scrutiny of their partnership would wear off after the initial burst of interest he was probably wrong.
Greg Rusedski claimed in his television commentary that Murray has retreated into his comfort zone of playing more passively since teaming up with his French mentor in early June. In the wake of Thursday night’s one - s i ded defeat, Murray responded: ‘ What do you want me to do? The guy was halfvolleying the ball inside the baseline, so you had no time to react.
‘The ball was coming off the middle of his racket on every shot, so I’d have been interested to see how Greg would have approached it.’
Murray is indeed held to high standards, in part due to his past achievements. Finishing as world No 6 in the season after back surgery is hardly a disgrace, and once again he had a consistent year in the Grand Slams.
But the reason for him ending the year 0-9 against Djokovic, Federer and Rafael Nadal is that they have continually improved and evolved their games while he has not, and therein lies Mauresmo’s challenge.
She has to try to get him back playing more aggressively rather t han f ollowing his natural instinct of hanging back behind the baseline.
Perhaps the embarrassment against Federer could serve a purpose if it convinces him of the need for change.
Murray has said previously that it has taken about five months for a new coach to have an impact on him, so if it is working with Mauresmo we should see it inside the first half of next year.
Of more concern should be the occasions this year when he has mentally dialled out of matches, something in evidence worryingly often.
The most recent instances have been against Djokovic, Kei Nishikori and Federer, but it goes back further, such as in disappointing defeats at Queen’s and Wimbledon.
There have been glimpses of his pre-op Lendl form, such as the first two sets at the US Open against Djokovic, but there will need to be more than flashes of that if the consensual bedside manner of Mauresmo is to prove a success.
Djokovic finishes the year No 1 for the third consecutive time and will face Nishikori in the semi-finals. Federer was expecting to face Stan Wawrinka in the other, provided his compatriot avoided disaster l ast night against Marin Cilic.
ATP Tour chief executive Chris Kermode yesterday floated the idea of creating a world championship for under 21 players as part of a review of the sport’s structure that includes business leaders such as designer Tommy Hilfiger.