“WHEN the moment comes that we have serious business to do, I not only feel completely comfortable; I completely believe in what Brad tells me. That’s genius coaching — simple and complicated at the same time.”

That was Andy Roddick talking about Brad Gilbert, his coach, seven months ago. Yesterday, mulling over his indifferent end to the year when his game had lost much of its sense of direction, Roddick decided that he and Gilbert should part company — the second time in 18 months that the American, 22, has chosen to move in a different coaching direction.

No official reason has been given for the unexpected split and it is not as though the pair did not get along. On the tour they seemed more like elder and younger brother than coach and protégé. But perhaps spending so much time in each other’s company — given Gilbert’s verbose manner, even Roddick may not have been able to get many words in — put a strain on their relationship and the younger man needed more of his own space.

Roddick has dropped only one spot in the 12 months from the end of 2003, from No 1 to No 2, but that fall must seem enormous given the gap between Roger Federer and everyone else in the game. In their three matches this year, Roddick managed one set, a sequence that extended their head-to-head record to 8-1 in favour of the Swiss.

It is not as if Gilbert does not leave with an impressive CV. In their time together after Roddick dispensed in May 2003 with Tarik Benhabiles, the Frenchman who had taken him from being the world’s leading junior to a place inside the world’s top ten, there were 121 victories from 147 matches and nine singles titles, including the Stella Artois at Queen’s Club in their first tournament together and last year’s US Open, his one grand- slam title.

Gilbert had come with a ringing endorsement from Andre Agassi, whom he had coached for eight years. Intriguingly, Agassi wrote in a foreword to I’ve Got Your Back, a book Gilbert penned this year: “For BG, there was never a short cut to success. When you stepped on to the court, you had to believe in yourself, based on your homework and preparation. What Brad helped me with the 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.”

That may be Roddick’s thinking in a nutshell. He has seen at closer hand than most what Federer has achieved without a coach — although the world No 1 has not yet given up all hope of persuading Tony Roche, the Australian who guided Ivan Lendl and Pat Rafter to grand-slam successes, to come out of retirement and work with him. Roche initially turned down the invitation because of the travelling involved, but a part-time relationship is thought to be a possibility.

Roddick has to look elsewhere. Jim Courier, a former world No 1 and twice a French and Australian Open champion — two events in which Roddick has failed to shine — has been mooted as a possible replacement for Gilbert, though he has no coaching pedigree to speak of. Darren Cahill, another Australian, would be top of the list, but he intends to stay loyal to Agassi until the 34-year-old finally runs out of steam or interest. Like Gilbert, Cahill has taken an experienced player (Agassi) and a youngster — in his case, Lleyton Hewitt — to the world No 1 ranking and grand-slam successes.

DRIVING WITH THE COACH

The Gilbert gospel

“If it was four in the morning and my guy called and said: ‘I need you to come over’, I wouldn’t ask what it was about. If it’s important enough for him to call me at that hour, it’s important enough for me to go. And whatever the situation was, we would figure it out.”

The Gilbert effect

Mike Agassi, Andre’s father: “You can shut the Grand Canyon, but you can’t shut Brad Gilbert’s mouth.”
Andy Roddick: “Brad — I don’t win matches on grass.” He won his next ten grass court matches in a row, including the Queen’s title and reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon.