Give me the job, Andy
Delgado has tennis IQ to end talk of a Lendl return
ANDY MURRAY and Ivan Lendl will for ever be linked together, but the chances of them rekindling their hugely successful relationship look increasingly remote.
Lendl’s distaste for travel, and especially to do much flying, is one factor, as would be a reluctance on Murray’s part to revisit the past. And then there could be the simple dimension that everything is going to plan with Jamie Delgado as his lead coach.
Delgado, the former British Davis Cup player thrust into the role by the departure of Amelie Mauresmo, would be more than happy if it were to become a permanent arrangement.
While pledging to support the idea of a bigger name coming in above him, Delgado also challenges the assumption that Murray always behaved like a choirboy on court when the gnarled Czech was in his support box.
‘I don’t know if that was completely true by the way, but I think from that point of view Andy has always had a bit [of dialogue] with the box,’ he said. ‘It has always been so. I don’t think it would be different even if Lendl was in there.
‘If Andy asked me to do it, I would be more than willing. It’s not something I’ve talked that much to him about and it’s his decision at the end of the day. But if he was to say: “Jamie do you want to do it full on?” of course I would.’
The likelihood of that happening would increase substantially if Murray can make another deep run at the French Open, starting today with a fourth round against the American giant John Isner.
His is a potentially difficult route to the final, but it can hardly be argued that he has missed Mauresmo since their split early in the week of the Madrid Open.
Murray reached the final in Spain and then beat Novak Djokovic — who beat British No 2 Aljaz Bedene 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 last night —in the Italian Open final.
There were two severe wobbles in the opening two rounds in Roland Garros, when veteran Radek Stepanek and French wildcard Mathias Bourgue both pushed him to five sets. But Delgado partly attributes that to the delayed start to his Paris build-up caused by two necessary days off, compounded by the weather.
At 29, does Murray need a big hitter in his support team? Djokovic, who is just a week younger than the Scot, still has Boris Becker and the trend that Murray started shows no sign of abating, with Milos Raonic’s appointment of John McEnroe as his consultant coach for the grass season.
Delgado, 39, does not have that status, but his knowledge is extremely current, having not long retired as a player before going straight into doing good things as coach to Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller. He was an outstanding junior, probably the best of his immediate generation when he was around 15, but he barely grew after that.
Despite making Wimbledon’s second round three times, Delgado’s career could be filed away with the many British players who at one point promised a lot, but could not ultimately deliver.
His supremely easygoing nature may have been a problem, but within the game his tennis IQ is highly rated. In any event that is no area in which you could kid Murray, whose own tennis nous is off the scale.
‘I don’t think I’m a guy who’s shouting and bawling and throwing teacups around but I do think I understand the game well — players’ strengths and weaknesses, how to practise and make people better and have a relaxed, confident attitude to the player,’ he said. ‘I don’t complicate things and don’t overstress when they’re going badly.
‘I’d like to think I can keep things calm for him, which is important in big events like these as the event goes on; in big matches that’s important as well.
‘Communication in any coach-player relationship is important. For him to open up about good things and bad things that are happening in his matches, and how he feels before or afterwards.
‘I think tactically it’s been good in terms of his game-style. And I think I’m pretty thorough in looking at opponents he has to play and how he’s going to prepare for certain matches.’
He once played alongside a young Murray in the Davis Cup, and also lost to him at a small tournament in Scotland. ‘He’s always going on about that!’ said Delgado. ‘I told him it was the worst result of my playing career. We always had a good relationship.
‘When I first saw him, he was 15 or 16 years old. I really liked the way he played then and I always looked out for his results after that.’
Murray has to watch out for Isner, even though his prowess against tall players has seen the Scot win five out of five matches against him.
The American can not only serve, but is a surprisingly strong rallier from the back of the court.
Heavy rain caused a long afternoon interruption at Roland Garros yesterday. Austria’s Dominic Thiem won the battle of two of the game’s outstanding prospects, beating Germany’s Alex Zverev 6-7, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.