Gilbert parle de Murray

Murray's mentor getting positive vibes


Brad Gilbert plans a winter of hard grind to propel the fiery Scot into world's top eight by the end of 2007

Donald McRae
Tuesday November 21, 2006
The Guardian

Even at 7.30 on a cold and dark morning in west London, with a surly wind whipping down the road from Barons Court underground station, Brad Gilbert exudes a "positive vibe". Jumping up from a glowing computer, where he is checking his emails at the Queen's Club, Gilbert pumps my hand and hollers: "Hey, buddy, good to see ya!"

As he is being paid £700,000 a year by the Lawn Tennis Association to coach Andy Murray and inspire the British game, while enjoying four months of annual holiday, the American has cause to be upbeat. But I cannot help warming to Gilbert when, after taking an optimistic slurp of machine coffee from a paper cup, he issues an almost scholarly warning: "Y'know, I like anyone with a positive vibe but sometimes you can't judge the book. You have to open the book, hold it in your hands, let your mind loose and get into it to understand what it means."

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Gilbert, of course, is talking about Murray - a sulky but gifted Scottish teenager who, having been ranked 514 last January, has ended the 2006 season at No17 in the world. Murray is also only one of two players, alongside Rafael Nadal, to have beaten Roger Federer this year. That memorable win in Cincinnati in August marked an early high point for Gilbert and Murray - in only their third tournament together.

"When I first saw Murray," Gilbert says, "I thought this guy walks real slow - but then I saw how fast he moves. [Pete] Sampras was the same. He had that kind of hangdog look where it seemed he could hardly take another step. And then he'd play like a dream. Murray also talks real slow but he's a very bright kid. The cover tells you nothing about the book inside."

The 45-year-old could be describing himself for, despite the positive vibe, this is a former grinder and a brutally smart coach who chose to subtitle his book, Winning Ugly, with the coolly sinister "Mental Warfare In Tennis - Lessons From A Master". On the cover Gilbert brandishes his wraparound shades - similar to the pair he wore in Cincinnati when, two matches after he had shocked Federer, Murray had screamed at him.

Struggling against Andy Roddick, the 19-year-old turned to his new coach and yelled: "You're giving me nothing. I'm dying out here."

Gilbert smiles. "That's why I wear black and sit there like this [folding his arms] behind the shades. I don't clap too loudly or act disgusted, because he's the one doing it. That's the greatest thing about tennis. Two enter, one leaves. It's as stark as boxing. That's why I'm not going to show my emotions when Murray vents his. I don't think he's mad at me personally but I'd like to see him curtail it a little, because - apart from [Jimmy] Connors and [John] McEnroe - I don't know anyone who plays better when angry.

"The key point about Cincinnati is that the day Murray beat him was not one of Federer's best days on court. But he's No1 in the world and he normally wins on even those off-days. It was good for Murray but I try not to hang on the high notes, because tennis is more about the days when you're not flying."

He takes as much satisfaction from remembering that, in his next match, Murray won a tight struggle against another ambitious young gun in Richard Gasquet. "For me it's all about the effort, and beating Gasquet showed that Murray could guts it out. I was worried about his physical shape, because Murray had played 13 matches in 15 days and he was tired. But he won in three sets and that was important, because he is in a core of young guys who are really good - Gasquet, [Tomas] Berdych, [Marcos] Baghdatis, [Gaël] Monfils, [Nikolay] Davydenko. They're behind Federer and Nadal - but they're all hungry."

Can he make the top five and even win a grand slam? "We're trying to get better," Gilbert says. "The potential is there and now it's about dedication and desire. Yeah, I think he can do both these things - but I'm never going to put pressure on him by saying it loudly. Andre [Agassi] talks to me a lot about Murray, because at 19 he was under the same expectation." Coached by Gilbert from 1994 to 2002, Agassi became world No1 and won six grand slam tournaments during that period. "Andre had this fantastic talent - but he was a coach's dream, because he only ever thought about improving himself. So I listen closely when he talks about Murray."

If Gilbert avoids any explicit detailing of Agassi's advice he concedes that Murray's physical and mental conditioning will be crucial. "This is our first off-season together and we're really looking at his fitness. But if you don't use your brain it doesn't matter how hard you run. There's no doubt that the guy with the most powerful brain on court is the best player -Roger Federer. He combines a fabulous game with this unbelievable brain - and that gives him greatness."

Gilbert had none of the sublime playing ability of Federer or McEnroe. And yet, in one of his defining matches, he came from a set down to beat McEnroe in the 1986 Masters at Madison Square Garden. In the course of that defeat,which sent him into temporary retirement, McEnroe screamed: "Gilbert, you don't deserve to be on the same court as me!"

Gilbert is now more intent on remembering how McEnroe had outsmarted him a few years earlier by mocking the Californian's lack of power. In the midst of trying to hammer the ball down McEnroe's throat, he was outclassed. "When you're young you get that rush of blood but it pays to stay smart - and determined."

Such conviction helped Gilbert, despite his limitations, win more than $5m and rise to No4 in the world. "Even when my parents said to me at 18 'what you gonna do?' I said I'll make it as a pro. And they were, like, 'uh, Brad, you're not that good.' But I knew I could do it."

In a facet to his character more complex than first impressions might suggest he reveals how he has always been frustrated that his father, Barry, a property developer, rarely listened to him. "My dad's no better at listening today. He just talks at me and that's made me realise, as a coach, the importance of hearing your player."

Is Gilbert any better at listening to his son, Zach, who is the same age as Murray? "I'm trying - but it's hard to accept that just because you're the parent doesn't mean you're the final voice."

Such awareness is crucial to his coaching success - and helps him understand that "some of your key work with your player is away from the court. But it's also a tough dynamic, because you're working, travelling and eating with the guy and that's why there's a high turnover in this business. It's a strange relationship, because the guy you're coaching might be 25 years younger but he's employing you. So I think my situation with Andy works, because the LTA are paying me".

I ask what he makes of Roger Draper, the go-getting LTA chief executive who is spending money so fast that Wimbledon will need to generate another bumper profit next summer. "Man, I like Roger. He's not old or beaten down. We're only on the ground floor with both Murray and British tennis but I like his positive vibe."

I like the fact Gilbert can follow a seemingly glib endorsement of his generous paymaster with a more telling insight into his own methods. To help "find the balance" between their contrasting personalities Gilbert struck a £500 bet with Murray in August that Peter Crouch will score 25 goals for Liverpool this season. "It's not happening," Gilbert says grimly. "It's hard to score when you're on the bench."

Rafa Benítez, after all, is not a coach in the Gilbert mode. "I don't like it," he says of Liverpool's rotation policy. "I need to talk to this guy [Benítez] and tell him to put my man in. Otherwise, how's he going to score and do the worm?"

Gilbert might be resigned to losing his £500 but he could yet become the banker to help Murray fulfil his immense potential. "One step at a time. Next year the goal is to make Shanghai [the Masters Cup finale for the world's top eight players]. That means cutting Murray's ranking in half. And, right now, that looks a better bet than the Crouch. We've got a way more positive vibe."