Andy Murray arrives at the French Open with confidence to burn after a thrilling run in Rome that saw him defeat Novak Djokovic for the first time on clay. The fact that Murray has endured a much-publicized split with coach Amelie Mauresmo has not dented Murray’s bubble at all. Though he’s aware of the fact that there will likely be a coaching void to fill in the not too distant future, Murray says that things are peachy for now, so why disrupt the mojo ahead of the crucial part of the season?
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"I have spoken a little bit to my team about it, but I haven't spoken to anyone (else) yet,'' Murray said on Friday in Paris. ''Considering how things went in Rome and Madrid, things are going well right now, no need to rush into anything."
Murray adds that Jamie Delgado is providing good guidance at the moment, and there’s very little else that needs to be said about it.
“I'm happy with the work I have done with Jamie so far,” Murray said of the former coach of Gilles Muller. “We get on well away from the court and he's a very good people person. He gets on well with my whole team and I find it very easy to chat to him. On top of that he is very, very experienced around the tour."
But Murray admits that down the road he may want to add someone to the team so that Delgado doesn’t get caught up in the grind that can snatch the wind from the sails of even the strongest player-coach dynamics.
There has already been much speculation that Murray might rehire Ivan Lendl on a part-time basis, so that the pair may recreate some of the magic that the Czech helped foster for Murray when he won his two major titles.
During a conference call for ESPN on Wednesday, former coach Brad Gilbert stressed that Murray is right where he needs to be with his game and that he simply needs someone to help him prepare for and navigate at the majors in the fashion that Lendl did.
“He's still in the thick of things to win majors, so he's got to find that right person that can help navigate his game,” said Gilbert. “He says Jamie Delgado is going to be with him 35 to 40 weeks. He's looking for somebody like for the Slams to help get him over the hurdle. I do think it's probably somebody that's been in that situation, somebody that has either coaching experience winning Slams, or playing experience winning Slams, so it's got to be one of those two.”
Murray stresses that he’s not ruling any options out at the moment.
"I always try to improve myself, so if there is something that can help me for sure than I will be interested to have another person to help us, and also to give [Delgado] a break sometimes. Travel every week throughout the year is hard and you know, it's just the beginning of our relationship.”
Murray will open his French Open by facing qualifier Radek Stepanek in the first round. The 37-year-old has battled back issues for a while but is rounding into form on the clay this spring.
"The qualifiers will have played three matches," said Murray when asked about the pitfalls of opening against a qualifier. "They are probably feeling pretty good about their conditions and comfortable on the courts."