Andy Murray’s search for a new coach continues, but there are encouraging signs of a return to form on the court.
It’s now two months since the shock departure of Ivan Lendl, the man who guided the Scot to glory at Wimbledon, the US Open and the London Olympics.
Countless names have been thrown up, but Murray insists he’ll take his time to find the right man.
He will still be going it alone at the French Open, where he opens against Andrey Golubev, the World No.55 from Kazakhstan.
It’s the first time in two years that Murray has appeared at Roland Garros. He missed out last year because of his troublesome back.
That required surgery last September and he has been easing his way back to form since returning to the tour in January.
However, his performance in Rome, where he lost a thrilling quarter-final to Rafael Nadal, was his best of the year.
Former British No.2 Jamie Baker wants to see Murray build on that display in Paris and set himself up for his defence of Wimbledon next month.
“Andy’s form hasn’t been what he’d have expected,” says Baker, who will be an analyst for British Eurosport’s French Open coverage. “But he has so much five-set pedigree. He can play his way into the tournament.
“His style of game on clay isn’t quite as effective as it is on grass. But this is a good chance to build momentum for the grass-court season.
“The most important thing is to get his confidence and his level back up to where it was before his back surgery.
“It’s tough when you’re off the tour. You feel everyone is improving while you have to recover.
“You almost have double the amount of ground to make up.
“And it takes a while to do everything instinctively again. You have to stop thinking about your recovery process or if it’s hurting.
“But Andy was right at the top against Nadal in Rome. If he plays like that again, he can beat anybody.
“I’m not really surprised he is taking his time about a coach because Ivan’s departure was so out of the blue.
“Plus with the sad death of Elena Baltacha, Andy has probably spent less time than normal thinking about this.
“But regardless of the name, the new coach will need wisdom and a certain amount of experience to gain Andy’s respect.”
Nadal will be aiming for an unprecedented ninth title in Paris. But only one clay-court title out of four in the build-up is surprising for the Spaniard.
Baker wonders if this could be Novak Djokovic’s moment. The Serb beat Nadal in the Rome final and wants revenge for his epic semi-final loss at Roland Garros last year.
“Rafa is not as strong a favourite as he is normally,” explains the Scot, who retired last summer.
British Eurosport will broadcast live coverage of the French Open, May 25-June 8.
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