Andy Murray is in no hurry to find a new coach, and may stick with Jamie Delgado long term.
Former British player Delgado joined the world No 2’s team in February as assistant to Amelie Mauresmo, but assumed senior status when Murray announced his split from the Frenchwoman earlier this month.
With Mauresmo unwilling to commit as much time as before, Delgado had already become a prominent figure and the success of his integration into the team may have been a factor in Murray’s decision.
The Scot talked in the immediate aftermath of Mauresmo’s departure about wanting to have a new coach in place for Wimbledon, but he has not yet talked to any possible candidates.
That might not be about to change soon, with Murray happy to stick with what has proved a winning formula.
Having been in Murray’s corner for his runs to the semi-finals in Monte-Carlo and the final in Madrid, Delgado’s first tournament as the 29-year-old’s sole coach ended with him beating Novak Djokovic to win the title in Rome last weekend.
Murray said: “Obviously with the way that everything went in Rome and Madrid, things are going well just now, so no need to rush into anything. I’m happy with the work I have done with Jamie so far.
“That’s for sure possible (to stick with Delgado). I’m always looking to improve, so if there is something that I feel could help me, then for sure I would look into that in terms of another person to help out, and also to give him (Delgado) a break as well from time to time.”
Delgado’s highest ranking was 121 but he does not lack experience.
He retired in 2014, aged 37, to concentrate on coaching Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller, who he guided from outside the top 300 into the top 40.
“I enjoy working with him. I obviously know him very well. We get on well away from the court,” Murray said.
“He’s pretty calm. He’s a relaxed guy.
“On top of that, he’s very, very experienced around the tour. He’s played whatever it was, 23 Wimbledons in a row, so he’s been around the game a long, long time.
“And he’s a good coach. He had good results with Gilles Muller and we’ve started well.”
Meanwhile, yesterday’s draw for the French Open was largely kind to Murray, although wily 37-year-old Radek Stepanek was arguably the trickiest of the qualifiers he could have faced in round one.
The pair met in Madrid in the second round where Stepanek, who has beaten Murray twice, took a set off the Scot.
Big servers Ivo Karlovic and John Isner, against whom Murray has excellent records, are the seeds in his section, and the only real negative is that he was placed in the same quarter as in-form fifth seed Kei Nishikori.
He was guaranteed to be in the opposite half to top seed Djokovic but also avoided Rafael Nadal, with Murray’s potential semi-final opponent being defending champion Stan Wawrinka.
The other two Brits in the men’s draw face qualifiers: Aljaz Bedene takes on Austria’s Gerard Melzer; Kyle Edmund faces Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili.
