McEnroe expecting "great things" from Murray
Tuesday, 22 Aug 2006 14:58
British number one Andy Murray
John McEnroe believes Andy Murray can achieve "great things" in the game if his partnership with Brad Gilbert continues to blossom.
Since Gilbert assumed mentoring duties of Britain's number one last month, Murray has embarked on a phenomenal run which has seen him beat world number one Roger Federer and rise to within the top 20 rankings.
Murray is now heading to Flushing Meadows as a seed for next week's US Open and McEnroe, one of the game's all-time greats, predicts the 19-year-old Scot can continue to cause a storm under Gilbert's guidance.
"Brad has got a lot of credibility because of the two people that he's coached – Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick – who both reached number one," McEnroe said.
"At the same time, he's smart – he picks talented guys. I think that says something about Murray that Gilbert's decided to work with him. It also says to Murray that Gilbert believes he can be at the top of the game."
American legend McEnroe did stress that maintaining good relations between player and coach will be the key to success.
"People like myself have touted Murray as a possible grand slam champion, but that requires a lot of work and effort," he added.
"He's made a lot of headway, he seems to be continuing to improve and it's a question of how his and Gilbert's personalities mix as time goes on. That's the key.
"If they can find that common ground, great things can happen. I don't think that anyone can doubt that Gilbert gets his people prepared and strategises well."