Andy Murray has yet to win a title this year, but he has never been away from the headlines, particularly over the past 10 days after splitting with his coach Miles Maclagan. This time last year, Murray had four titles and added a fifth at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, a crown he will be defending this week. The hunt for his fourth coach has been put on the backburner as the Scot sets his sights on conquering Roger Federer over the coming days and ending his wait for a first grand slam success at the US Open next month.
But if John Newcombe, the Australian tennis legend, is to be believed, Murray does not need a coach, but a shrink to conquer his own demons of self-doubt. "His biggest problem is that he withdraws instead of attacking when the pressure is on during big points in big matches," Newcombe told the Daily Express earlier this week. "We saw that in the Wimbledon semi-final when he lost in straight sets to Rafael Nadal because he was too quick to go on the defensive."
That self-doubt was in evidence last month at the Farmers Classic in Los Angeles as well, when Murray wasted a match point in the second set and lost to Sam Querrey. Murray has defeated Federer and Rafael Nadal, but in big games at grand slams he has come unstuck, failing to find the sharpness in his attacking game to complement his defensive fortress. If he can add a few gears to his attacking game, success will come sooner than later.
