Andy Murray splits with assistant coach Jonas Bjorkman
The Swede, who joined the world No 2’s entourage this year, took charge of his coaching for last four months of the season
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Your support makes all the difference.Andy Murray is looking for a new assistant coach after deciding not to renew Jonas Bjorkman’s contract. The Swede, who joined the world No 2’s entourage earlier this year, took charge of his coaching for the last four months of the season in the absence of Amélie Mauresmo but will not be part of the team in future.
Mauresmo, who gave birth to her first child in the summer, returned to work last week and is currently with Murray while he trains in Dubai. The Frenchwoman will be at the Australian Open next month and has agreed a schedule for 2016 which will see her work for between 22 and 24 weeks of the year.
“Nice to have Amélie back in the team out in Dubai,” Murray wrote on his Facebook page. “Thanks to Jonas for helping out this year. I enjoyed working with one of the nicest guys on the tour.”
Although Mauresmo will be at all the Grand Slams and some Masters Series events, part of her time will be spent at Murray’s training blocks. That means there will be a number of other weeks in the year when the Scot will be on the road and need coaching support. The likelihood is Murray will hire a full-time coaching assistant, which would give him the continuity sometimes missing as Mauresmo and Bjorkman dovetailed their working weeks.
The job will probably be filled by an up-and-coming coach. The arrangements are likely to be similar to when Ivan Lendl coached Murray and Dani Vallverdu was a permanent fixture in his entourage.
Jamie Delgado, the Briton coaching Gilles Müller, could be an ideal candidate. If Murray wanted someone with more experience he could look to a fellow Scot, Iain Hughes, who works with the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina.
Murray has played in two International Tennis Premier League matches in Dubai this week. He helped the Singapore Slammers to a 27-24 victory over Dubai. He beat Roger Federer 6-4 in the concluding one-set match.
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