Murray hires clay court specialist as short-term coach
Friday, 04 Apr 2008 21:55
Murray hopes Corretja can help his clay court expertise
Andy Murray has appointed former two-time French Open finalist Alex Corretja as his coach for the forthcoming clay court season.
The Spaniard will form part of a three-man team, working with Miles Maclagan and physical trainer Matt Little who regularly assist the Scot throughout the year.
Corretja won 17 tour titles during his career, primarily on clay, and reached a world ranking of number two in May 1999.
The 33-year-old will mentor Murray at nine tournaments, including Masters Series events in Monte Carlo, Rome and Hamburg as well as the French Open.
Murray said he hoped Corretja would be able to give him valuable advice ahead of the second Grand Slam of the season.
He said: "It's great for me to be able to work with a clay court specialist like Alex. He had a fantastic career and I am looking forward to learning from his experiences."
Murray has won twice on the ATP Tour already this season but has struggled for consistency recently, losing most recently to Mario Ancic in the second round of the Miami Masters.
Corretja said: "I have watched Andy play several times over the last couple of years and in particular his close match against Nadal in Madrid in October and saw that he has tremendous potential to play well on all surfaces and I am flattered to have been asked to be part of his team during the clay court season."
Corretja is the first former player to coach Murray since his split from Brad Gilbert at the end of last season.