Murray: Henman can help me

Tennis Correspondent,Paul Newman
Sunday 10 April 2011 00:00 BST
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The former British No 1 Tim Henman is someone 'I'd be interested in working with,' says Andy Murray
The former British No 1 Tim Henman is someone 'I'd be interested in working with,' says Andy Murray (GETTY IMAGES)

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As he continues his search for a new coach, Andy Murray is considering an approach to Tim Henman. While Murray realises there is little chance that Henman would be interested in going into coaching at this stage of his life, he says the former British No 1 is someone "I would be interested in working with".

Murray is looking for a new coach after splitting with Alex Corretja, who had worked with him on a part-time basis for the last three years and had become the senior figure in the world No 4's camp following the departure of Miles Maclagan last summer. Until he finds a permanent replacement, Murray will work with some of Adidas' team of coaches, which includes Darren Cahill and Sven Groeneveld.

As for Henman, Murray said he had not talked to him yet. "I might speak to Tim," the 23-year-old Scot said. "He's someone who is around and as an ex-player I'm sure he could help me. I've a lot of respect for him, though I think he's quite happy on the golf course, to be honest."

Murray talked about his coaching situation at the announcement of his entry into the pre-Wimbledon Aegon Championships at Queen's Club in June. Considering Henman's outstanding record on grass, it would be no surprise if Murray sought out the former world No 4 in the two weeks he will have to prepare for the All England Club following the conclusion of the clay-court season. Henman had an outstanding record at Wimbledon, reaching the semi-finals four times and the quarter-finals on four other occasions.

Considering that there are very few established coaches available, did Murray think he might have to wait until after Wimbledon before making an appointment? "I'd like it to happen before then, but also I wouldn't like to employ someone two days before the French Open," he said. "If it doesn't happen in the next two or three weeks, it's more likely that it would happen straight after the French or after Wimbledon."

Murray said that the arrangement with Corretja, a former world No 2, had failed because of its part-time nature. "He wasn't in Australia and that's where I feel that relationship maybe broke down a little bit," he said. "We still get on really well as friends, but if someone's going to be controlling what's going on, you need to have them around at the big events."

Murray now concentrates on the European clay-court season, which begins at Monte Carlo this week. After losing all four matches since the Australian Open, the Scot needs to get his season back on track. He had planned to miss Monte Carlo but has accepted a wild card. The third seed has been given an opening-round bye but will face a former top-10 player in round two – the winner of Radek Stepanek against Marcos Baghdatis.

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