Tim Henman would advise Andy Murray to stick with Jamie Delgado as his coach rather than appoint another big name.
The announcement last week of Murray’s split with Amelie Mauresmo after almost two years together left assistant coach Delgado in the hotseat.
The former British player joined the Scot’s team in February and has overseen Murray’s transformation from frustration at his early exits in Indian Wells and Miami to Sunday’s stunning victory over Novak Djokovic to take the title in Rome.
Tellingly, it was the world number one losing his cool in the Italian capital while Murray retained a focus and calm that earned him only a second win in his last 14 matches against Djokovic.
Murray has praised the job done by Delgado but has made finding a replacement for Mauresmo a priority, even opening up the possibility of reuniting with Ivan Lendl.
Henman, though, thinks Murray would be better off staying as he is, telling Press Association Sport: “He really looks in a good place mentally and I like the way his team around him, led by Jamie Delgado, have really got things working well.
“Jamie is someone I’ve known for a long time, I went to school with him. He got some good experience working with Gilles Muller the last couple of years, took him from 400 in the world into the top 40.
“He’s had a lot of experience on the tour, he was a good player himself, and I just like the simplicity of it. He’s going to give consistency and continuity.
“He knows what it entails to play well and I think with Andy it’s a lot about the clarity in his mind and being able to deal with adversity and having that consistent mental attitude on the court. The last month I’ve been incredibly impressed by that.
“It’s Andy’s decision and he’s got to do what’s best for him but, when you see him playing the way that he’s playing right now; he’s won grand slams in the past, he knows what he’s got to do, so I’d just keep going as he is.”
Mauresmo’s biggest success with Murray was his clay-court breakthrough.
Having never previously made a final on the surface, Murray won titles in Munich and Madrid last year, beating Rafael Nadal in the final of the latter, before pushing Djokovic to five sets in the semi-finals of the French Open.
But this year he has arguably done even better, making the last four in Monte Carlo, beating Nadal again in Madrid before losing to Djokovic in the final and then lifting the trophy in Rome on his 29th birthday.
With the French Open starting on Sunday, Murray will have realistic hopes of at least completing his set of grand slam finals.
Henman, speaking at the UK launch of the All-New Jaguar F-PACE, said: “I’ve been very impressed.
“He had a good clay-court season last year, obviously winning his first two titles, but this year he’s definitely taken it up another notch or two and he’s got better and better.
“I think beating Djokovic again in a big final is a great boost to his confidence. He’d lost 12 out of 13 matches and that gets a bit psychological so it really looks like he’s in a good place right now.
“It’s the ideal preparation going into Paris, where he’s had good results in the past, and I think he comes in in the best form of his career.”
Clay can now arguably be seen as Murray’s most consistent surface, which would have been unthinkable a couple of years ago.
Henman admitted the world number two has surprised him with his results on clay and believes the Coupe des Mousquetaires is within his reach.
The former British number one said: “I always knew he could play very well on any surface because he’s that good a player but I think to see him play as aggressively and as consistently, move as well as he has done, has been really, really impressive.
“Let’s just hope he can build from there in Paris because certainly he goes in as one of the favourites. I think Djokovic is the favourite but I think Murray, Nadal and (defending champion Stan) Wawrinka are a pretty close second.”
- Â Tim Henman was speaking at the UK launch of the All-New Jaguar F-PACE, the Official Car of The Championships, Wimbledon. The F-PACE is now on sale in the UK.
