Andy Murray faces decision on coaching after defeat in French Open final

The Scot will take the time between now and the start of Wimbledon to find Amelie Mauresmo's replacement

Murray now has the chance to give some thought to his coaching situation (Getty)

The treadmill rarely stops for the world’s best players and it will only be a day or two before Andy Murray digs out his grass-court shoes again. Having lost to Novak Djokovic in the French Open final yesterday, the Scot barely has time to draw breath before he begins the defence of his Aegon Championships title at Queen’s Club next week.

With Wimbledon starting in three weeks’ time, Murray for one will be grateful that the All England Club moved their tournament back a week in the calendar last year. Before that extension of the grass-court season, there were occasions when Rafael Nadal would be practising on the first day at Queen’s just 24 hours after winning at Roland Garros.

Murray may not get back on the court for a day or two, but tennis will still be on his mind. He earmarked the time between now and the start of Wimbledon as a chance to give more thought to his coaching situation following his parting of the ways with Amelie Mauresmo last month.

Despite the Scot’s success in reaching the final of the French Open for the first time in Jamie Delgado’s first Grand Slam tournament since joining his coaching entourage, it seems likely that Murray will still look to bring a senior figure into his team.

In working with Ivan Lendl, Murray set a trend for players appointing big-name coaches to work with them only at the biggest tournaments while an assistant – in Lendl’s case Dani Vallverdu – travelled on a year-round basis. Two coaches have become the norm for top players now, with Djokovic’s arrangement with Boris Becker and Marian Vajda proving how well the set-up can work.

Milos Raonic has even gone one better by bringing in John McEnroe to work with him during the grass-court season alongside his regular coaches, Carlos Moya and Riccardo Piatti.

McEnroe was touted in some quarters as a possible replacement for Lendl before Murray appointed Mauresmo two years ago. The veteran American said he would have been interested in talking to Murray this time around but added: “I don’t recall ever getting a call. When you look at someone who’s that good, you’re always interested - speaking for myself, because I can’t speak for everyone. It depends on what type of commitment you’re talking about and for how long. There was never any discussion. I never heard from anyone.

“It’s been a win-win for Boris and Novak as an example. I think clearly my old rival Ivan Lendl made a positive difference with Andy. He won a couple of majors. So you’re talking about the cream of the crop.”

Jamie Delgado alongside Murray's former coach Amelie Mauresmo (Getty)

Although Murray and Lendl went their separate ways because the former world No 1 was not prepared to commit enough time to the job for the Scot’s liking, there are suggestions that the two men might get together again.

McEnroe, who will be part of the BBC’s commentary team at Wimbledon, said: “It would be an interesting thought. He had great success before and I don’t see why he would not do it, though I am not sure about the baggage that took place when they broke up. I’m not sure why that happened. I don’t know if that was really mutual or if it was Andy or Ivan. I don’t know if it is like going back out with your ex-wife or ex-girlfriend. I don’t know if it was that extreme.

“On paper, it potentially makes some sense to me. It’s not for me to say, but at the same time he seemed to be playing the best clay-court tennis on his own. He has got Delgado, so he has a coach, but he might want to bring in a second guy. It would not surprise me and it might even make sense.”

Andy Murray congratulates Novak Djokovic on his French Open victory (Getty)

While Murray will compete at Queen’s next week, Djokovic has not entered any grass-court tournaments before Wimbledon. In recent years the Serb has simply played an exhibition match or two in the week before competition at the All England Club begins. He is likely to do the same again this year and might even repeat his winning formula of 12 months ago, when he took a break in Marbella between Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

Nadal, meanwhile, is still nursing the wrist injury which forced him to pull out of the French Open after his second match in Paris. He has already withdrawn from the Aegon Championships and must be a serious doubt for Wimbledon.

Roger Federer’s participation at the All England Club was also in question after he missed the French Open because of an ongoing back problem, but the Swiss is returning to competition this week in Stuttgart, which changed from clay to grass last year following the expansion of the grass-court season.

“I feel much better again,” Federer told the Association of Tennis Professionals website. “It's been a good last three weeks. No setbacks. My back’s good again. I feel much stronger. I was pretty fragile three weeks ago.”

Federer, who has a first-round bye in Stuttgart, said that missing the French Open – which was the first Grand Slam tournament in which he haD not competed since 1999 – had been a good decision.

“It was much better for me to look forward to the rest of the season, the rest of my life, really,” he said. “I didn't want to have setback after setback and injure myself maybe further. In hindsight, that was definitely the right decision.”