Murray severs ties with main coach Maclagan

Andy Murray has parted company with Miles Maclagan, the former British Davis Cup player who has been his coach since the end of 2007. Murray, who is playing in Los Angeles this week, has not won a tournament for more than nine months and suffered a poor run of form following the Australian Open, although he reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon.

It is understood Maclagan had become increasingly unhappy with the growing influence of Alex Corretja in Murray's entourage. Corretja, a former world No 2, was initially recruited as a consultant during the clay-court season but has played a more prominent role in the past year.

Murray wanted the two men to continue working together, but it became clear in Miami last week, during his preparations for the American hard-court season, that the three-way relationship had become too strained. Murray made the decision to sever his connection with Maclagan and has travelled to Los Angeles with Jez Green, one of his fitness trainers, and Andy Ireland, his physiotherapist.

Corretja has not gone to California, although he might join up with Murray next month in the build-up to the US Open, which starts 30 August. Under his current deal, Corretja works with Murray three months of the year. The Spaniard has two young children and it is believed he is unwilling to tour with Murray full-time.

While working with Maclagan, Murray won 11 of his 14 titles, reached two Grand Slam finals and climbed from No 11 in the world to No 2, although he has since slipped back to No 4. Maclagan's laidback approach and softly-spoken manner were in stark contrast to Murray's previous coach, the fast-talking Brad Gilbert. Having found the relationship with Gilbert too intense, Murray replaced the American with a large entourage, with Maclagan its heart.

They have been a happy, tight-knit group but, after losing in the final of this year's Australian Open, Murray went through one of the worst spells of his career. He made some improvement towards the end of the clay-court season, although he produced a lacklustre display in losing to Tomas Berdych at the French Open and was soundly beaten by Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon.

Murray, who is not expected to recruit a permanent replacement until after the US Open, said in a statement: "I've had a great relationship with Miles over the past two-and-a-half years and I want to thank him for his positive contribution to my career. We have had a lot of success and fun working together."

Maclagan said: "It's been a privilege to work with Andy as his coach and I'm happy to have played my part in his career. I also want to thank the team for all their hard work over the years and I will miss working with them and Andy."

"Andy is a great player and I know he will continue to have the success his talent and hard work deserves," Maclagan added.