THE first week of the French Open has produced more than enough drama, as far as Andy Murray is concerned, for an entire Grand Slam event.
The ups and downs, stresses and strains of his first two matches were replaced with a straightforward win over Ivo Karlovic in round three, with the prospect of a similar battle today against American John Isner.
But while Murray is used to dealing with everything that can and does go wrong under pressure, spare a thought for Jamie Delgado, who is handling coaching duties on his own after the departure of Amelie Mauresmo earlier this month.
Considering that Murray, Delgado and Mauresmo were together for just one week after Delgado came on board in February, the past couple of weeks have been nothing new for the former Davis Cup player.
His first competitive week post-Mauresmo saw Murray win the title in Rome, beating world No 1 Novak Djokovic in the final.
But as Murray considers his options, Delgado knows he is effectively on trial this fortnight, his fortunes inextricably linked to the performances of Murray.
Talk of a reunion with Ivan Lendl may be a touch fanciful but though Delgado is well aware of the rumours, he is keen to take the job, should it come his way.
“If he asked me to do it, I would be more than willing,” he said yesterday, taking a brief time-out from his main duties. “Of course I would.
“It’s not something I’ve talked that much to him about. It’s his decision at the end of the day. But yes, if he was to say: ‘Jamie do you want to do it full on?’ Yes of course I would.”
Murray has said that sticking with Delgado is an option but his quest for more Grand Slam titles suggests that he may try to bring someone else in as well.
“If he believes that there is someone who can help him then I will support him, if he thinks he really needs it,” said Delgado.
“If someone came in, I would work with that person. Even if someone came in, I would probably be doing most of the job anyway.”
Ten years apart, Murray and Delgado have been friends a long time, having played together twice in Davis Cup doubles, losing both.
Perhaps it was because Delgado, like Murray, was seen as a potential star when very young, perhaps because he knew a great player when he saw one, or perhaps it was because a teenage Murray beat Delgado in a Futures Tour event in Scotland.
“He’s always going on about that,” Delgado said. “I told him it was the worst result of my playing career.”
As someone who played 23 straight Wimbledons, starting in the juniors, Delgado has plenty of experience. His work with left-hander Gilles Muller of Luxembourg, whom he helped recover from 374 in the rankings after injury to return to the top 50 within just 10 months, did not go unnoticed by Murray.
“He’s a good coach,” Murray said on the eve of the French Open. “I enjoy working with him and had good results too with Gilles Muller and we started well.”
Having known each other since Murray was about 15, the two men get on well, the first pre-requisite of any player-coach relationship.
“I think communication in any coach/player thing is important,” he said. “For him to open up about good things and bad things that are happening in his matches, and how he feels before or afterwards [is important].
“I think tactically it’s been good in terms of his game-style, just looking at things. And I think I’m pretty thorough in looking at opponents he has to play and how he’s going to prepare for certain matches. I think I understand the game pretty well.”
After Murray struggled through the first two rounds, Delgado reminded him that even though they were tricky matches, there was plenty of positives.
Murray is a relatively sensitive soul, often thrown by new situations, as was the case here when he began practising at Roland Garros late, worried about how much court-time he needed after reaching the Madrid final and then winning the title in Rome.
Being forced to deny rumours that Mauresmo had left because she didn’t like Murray’s shouting towards the player-box was an unwelcome distraction in the early rounds.
It seems Delgado doesn’t take things personally, which could be handy if the rants come his way, but he believes his temperament is well-suited to the job.
“I don’t think I’m a guy who’s shouting and bawling and throwing teacups around,” he said. “But I do think I understand the game well and players’ strengths and weaknesses, how to practice and make people better and have a relaxed, confident attitude to the player.
“I don’t think I complicate things and don’t overstress things when they’re going badly. I’d like to think I can keep things calm for him, which is important in big events like these as the event goes on and in big matches as well.”
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