Andy Murray finally has a new coach and British tennis a strong inspirational force after Brad Gilbert, never previously known as a man to use one word when several hundred will do, said yes to a £500,000-a-year offer from the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA).
Rather than greet the good news with victory, Murray last night failed in his attempt to reach the third ATP final of his career. Despite being top seed in the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Championships on the grass of Newport, Rhode Island, he lost out at the semi-final stage to Justin Gimelstob 6-1 7-6.
That will not, however, overshadow the fact that, after a fortnight of intense negotiations, Gilbert is expected in Britain this week to formally sign the contract, novel in its terms. The 44-year-old Californian, who guided both Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick to be world No 1s, will be primarily employed by the LTA, but they will loan his services for an expected 28 weeks a year to Murray. But he is not to be given the title of director of performance, left vacant since the sacking of David Felgate three months ago.
Coaching Britain’s most talented player is just part of the remit formulated by the LTA’s new chief executive Roger Draper. Gilbert will also be expected to spend at least another couple of months at the new £40m National Tennis Centre at Roehampton, working to improve the level of his fellow British coaches, while also attending training camps at venues such as the LTA’s Spanish base at La Manga.
Draper met Gilbert to discuss their potential partnership during Wimbledon. The LTA, once beleaguered by the bureaucracy of committees, now considers itself executive led and Draper’s initial insistence when named in the post was to lure the world’s best talent. Since that initial meeting, negotiations have been extended by lawyers on both sides and there have been several sticking points, most notably the LTA’s demands that Gilbert should live in Britain when not on the road with Murray. But the obstacles seem to have been surmounted and now there is a genuine belief that Gilbert could also eventually succeed Jeremy Bates as Britain’s Davis Cup captain. For the time being, the American has been invited by Bates to attend next weekend’s tie with Israel. “He’s coming because I would like him to be there,” said Bates. “Andy would like Brad to be there too and he’s got lots to offer.”
The move underlines the LTA’s belief that Murray is the standard-bearer who can raise the sport’s profile in Britain, most notably among the most physically gifted youngsters who hitherto have opted to take up other sports. The LTA previously budgeted £160,000 a year towards Murray’s coaching and other back-up, but Gilbert’s services come a lot more expensive than that.
Not only is he required to move from his home from San Rafael in northern California, but he is also expected to resign from commentating for ESPN, the American sports television channel, his employer since Roddick fired him after an alliance of 18 months in December 2004.
The prospect of working with one of the most talented young players on the ATP tour has sparked Gilbert’s imagination. But so, too, is the temptation of succeeding where his two most vehement critics have failed — both John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors came to primary agreements to work for the LTA before negotiations broke down.
Connors, the original architect of the seniors tour, so detested Gilbert that he refused to allow his fellow American to compete on the circuit. McEnroe once insisted that he was so shame-faced after being defeated by Gilbert, a player he maintained did not deserve to be on the same court as him, that he refused to play for the following six months. Many insist that the truculent New Yorker was never quite the same again.
Although Gilbert rose as high as fourth in the world rankings, won 20 singles titles and earned more than $5m in prize money from his competitive career, he made no claims that he was a gifted player and never got beyond the quarter- final of a Grand Slam tournament in 32 attempts. He famously penned a book entitled Winning Ugly, specifically designed to help lesser players beat more accomplished opponents.
But it was his acumen as a coach that won him accolades and he insisted: “I like coaching more than anything else I have done. And I’m in it for the long haul. As a coach I set out to be a motivator, a friend, an adviser, a go-getter. I work out the X’s and the O’s. I’m not one of these guys that hangs around for just a few months.”
Agassi initially saw the potential when Gilbert was still playing on the tour and the pair spent a total of eight years together, with the Las Vegan not only winning six Grand Slam titles, but revitalising his career after injuries had seen his ranking drop as low as 144 in the world. Within a year, he was back in the top 10 and he still credits Gilbert as his prime motivational force.
“For BG there was never a shortcut to success,” recalled Agassi after their split. “What Brad helped me with most was the ability to believe in myself by learning to think for myself. A great coach can lead you to a place where you don’t need him any more.”
After an 18-month hiatus, Gilbert answered a plea for help from Roddick in the summer of 2003 and within 36 hours was by the player’s side in London as he attempted to overcome the disappointment of an early French Open exit at Queen’s. Roddick won his first Stella Artois championship less than a week later and added four other titles before the end of the year, including the US Open.
Throughout the American hard court summer he won 27 of his 28 matches and by the beginning of November was world No 1. “With Brad the coolest thing was that it wasn’t all this technical mumbo-jumbo,” said Roddick, who, since dispensing with Gilbert’s services, has also parted with replacement Dean Goldfine and currently stands outside the world’s top 10 for the first time in four years. “He made it very simple,” said Roddick.
Such credentials should be perfect for Murray, who has repeatedly admitted that he has suffered greatly from a lack of guidance since parting with Mark Petchey in April. In the interim, Murray has sought the counsel of his mother Judy, his junior coach Leon Smith and the LTA’s physical consultant Jean-Pierre Bruyere.
Murray will undoubtedly benefit from Gilbert’s attention to detail. The American has long insisted that when the world’s best players compete, the slightest advantage or problem can make all the difference. He meticulously scouts opposition, lays out the day’s training process, formulates specific game plans for each opponent and is even prepared to act as a butler and valet, bringing in early morning breakfast and coffee to hotel rooms.
Hopefully, given the financial investment, he will revel in the environment, and Gilbert is clearly excited by the prospect of working with a player whose talent suggests he will be challenging for Grand Slams before too long. However, by reputation, Murray is not the easiest of characters and certain ground rules will be laid down early in the relationship. Going into a new partnership, one of Gilbert’s beliefs seems particularly apposite. “When you have two really strong personalities, there is either the potential for something great or something disastrous,” he said.
Nevertheless, he is a man who guarantees he will always be on call for his player wherever needed. As he repeatedly insists to those who employ him: “No matter what, I’ve got your back. Whatever it is. And when you go into battle, I’m there.”
