If Fred Perry were alive, it is not inconceivable his name would be added to the growing list of supposed candidates to coach Andy Murray. At the time of writing, they have not exhumed the great man so he is in no danger of edging ahead of Amélie Mauresmo, Andy’s mum or Lottie Dod, but, on his showing here on day five of the French Open, Murray is doing quite nicely on his own.
He moved through to the third round by removing Marinko “Mad Dog” Matosevic from the tournament in an hour and 56 minutes, winning 6-3, 6-1, 6-3, and he is in excellent shape to take on 28th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber.
The bad news is that the German handed him one of his most embarrassing defeats the only time they met, a 62-minute drubbing on the clay of Monte Carlo four years ago. The good news is that Murray, with two slam titles and an Olympic gold medal in his kitbag, is by a distance a more settled player now, and Kohlschreiber is not much further advanced. He looked good, though, beating a back-troubled Denis Istomin 6-3, 7-6, 6-2.
“I’m sure he’s the favourite,” Kohlschreiber said, “but I’m going to try everything, to fight from the first to last point. If he’s fit and mentally strong, he’s unbelievably tough to play.”
As for the ongoing coaching saga, Murray did say that he would have no problem working with a female coach. “To be honest, ever since I stopped working with Ivan Lendl there has been a lot of different names mentioned: Amélie this week, there was Mats Wilander [who told the Guardian that he has not been approached]. There has been Jonas Bjorkman, John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Leon Smith, who is the Davis Cup captain, Bob Brett …”
It was beginning to sound like a Michael Redgrave monologue sketch, but Murray did say, after repeated prompting, that he would consider hiring a female coach.
“I don’t really care whether some of the other male players like it or not. That’s not something that bothers me. I was coached by my mum for a long time. I have had her around at tournaments for a long time. There have been ex-players and others who have said, ‘Oh, your mom shouldn’t be around’ or ‘she shouldn’t come and support you or come to watch.’ It’s silly.
“Everyone is entitled to have the team around them that they want. Everyone works very differently. Some men might not work well with a female, some men might work well with a female coach. It’s whatever your preference is and whatever your needs are.”
And he confirmed he would not make a decision in the middle of a grand slam tournament.
Murray has sketchy memories, meanwhile, of his Riviera nightmare against Kohlschreiber, but it is no longer a recurring one. “I was very disappointed after the match. I don’t remember a whole lot about exactly what happened. It just wasn’t a pleasant memory. Over the years I have had a few matches like that in Monte Carlo where I’ve lost fairly comfortably. I lost to Stan [Wawrinka] last year there, very quickly, as well. So [Kohlschreiber] will be very tough. He won a tournament last week. He’s not dropped a set here. He’s a very good player.”
Beyond the next round, with the third seed, Wawrinka, out of the equation, Murray has a testing but hardly scary path to the quarters and semis – where his old friend Rafael Nadal will almost certainly be waiting.
Murray broke Matosevic at the first time of asking on Court One, better known as the Bull Ring. It looked a stroll. But the Scot’s masochistic streak surfaced and he had to save three break points in the eighth game, forcing the frustrated Australian to serve to stay in the set. He didn’t.
Murray was not quite on his A game, but that was still too good for Matosevic – whom Greg Rusedski had forecast would not force a fourth set. He didn’t.
When Murray belted his eighth ace to take the second set, Mad Dog had his tongue hanging out. It took Murray 16 minutes to break at the start of the third but, after dropping serve in the eighth game, he hit a positively sizzling crosscourt backhand winner to wrap it up, and Matosevic was ready for the kennel. Every dog has his day; this wasn’t Marinko’s.
Nadal, meanwhile, sails above the flak like a stealth bomber. Restored to his rightful workplace, Court Philippe Chatrier, after the baffling decision to put the eight-times champion on Court Suzanne Lenglen for his opening match, the Spaniard negotiated a potentially awkward challenge from the man a lot of the old pros view with respect and suspicion, Dominic Thiem.
The 20-year-old Austrian with the expansive game and enough power and craft in his racket to hold his own with nearly anybody in the top 10, at least in bursts, clearly was up for his big day on centre stage, but Nadal took just over two hours of sublime tennis to douse his enthusiasm. He won 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 and is getting back to near his best.
The occasion did not freeze Thiem’s blood, but rather over-excited it, and the temptation to hit the big winner too early proved his downfall at key moments, especially as he was ambitious from too deep. Although soundly beaten, he is one to watch in this new age of tumult.
“I don’t think he was afraid,” Nadal said. “No, no, I saw him going for the points, going for the shots. It’s true sometimes he makes a few mistakes, but that is normal. He was a dangerous opponent. He had a very powerful forehand, good backhand too. I am happy with the way I resisted him.”
Nadal next plays Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer, who beat the Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the less glamorous surroundings of Roland Garros’s Court 17.
