Pat Cash believes Jonas Bjorkman is a good fit for Andy Murray and that the Swede could help the world No. 4 get better focused during tournaments.
– Guests enjoy world-class tennis at Fortnum & Mason event
– Bartoli rules out return to tennis after cryptic tweet
– #Quiz360: Win group paintball session at Zayed Sports City
Murray announced last Thursday he will be working with Bjorkman for a week (when the Swede is done appearing on a dance competition TV show) as a trial with the intent of hiring him as a coach should the test run prove successful.
The Scot had been searching for a coach to help him during the weeks where Amelie Mauresmo is unavailable and Cash believes Bjorkman could be the right man for the job.
“I think it probably would be a good fit. Jonas is very experienced. The good thing about Jonas, he really got the maximum out of his game, out of his ability. He worked hard,” Cash told Sport360 on the sidelines of the Tennis at the Palace event in Abu Dhabi.
“He won so many doubles grand slams, and did well in singles as well. It’s good to have someone who is really good mentally.
“Andy’s only issue is getting himself focused for the tournaments. That’s the only thing he’s got to do. You have to consider who the best person is for that. It probably is a good idea to get Jonas.”
Since his split with his ex-coach Ivan Lendl a year ago, followed by him parting ways with long-time hitting partner and stand-in coach Dani Vallverdu, Murray has been trying to rebuild his team to find the right balance.
He has climbed his way back into the top-four and reached the Australian Open final last month but has shown some lapses in concentration that cost him the trophy in Melbourne and saw him suffer a bizarre quarter-final exit to Borna Coric in Dubai.
People have been reiterating that Lendl was the only one who successfully kept Murray’s meltdowns in check but Cash doesn’t believe the American’s touch was as magical as the public are making it out to be.
Little-remembered fact: Andy Murray won his only match v new assistant coach Jonas Bjorkman: in 5 sets at the 2007 US Open.
— kevin mitchell (@kevinmitchell50) March 14, 2015
“I think he Lendl got Andy more focused, but people tend to forget that he was very close to losing the Wimbledon he won. He was two sets to love down against Fernando Verdasco and he was just going crazy.
“He almost blew the biggest opportunity of his career. But he got through that and he got better and got through the semi-finals,” said Cash, a Wimbledon champion in 1987.
“So Lendl didn’t have this magic spell over him where he was just a choir boy. He still had a lot of moments where he almost blew it. But I think he had enough focus to pull together. I don’t think it’s a secret recipe there.
“Everybody knew what he was going to do. He had to listen to somebody and I think he listened to Lendl. I think if he likes Jonas, Jonas is a good guy. He’ll talk pretty straight to him I think and Andy’s a straightforward Scotsman so I think hopefully this will be a good idea.”
In the Melbourne final against Novak Djokovic, Murray had leveled the match at one-set-all and gone up 2-0 in the third before he collapsed mentally, getting frustrated by his opponent’s antics – Murray implied after the match that Djokovic was exaggerating his physical problems during the final – and losing the third and fourth sets easily.
Cash feels Murray should use that match as a wakeup call and is confident the 27-year-old will learn from that experience.
“Alarming is probably the right word, because it’s a bit of a wakeup call. The great thing about Murray, and I’ve got a lot of respect for him, is that when something is an issue, he dealt with it. He needed to be a bit fitter, he got fitter and stronger as a young guy. He needed another coach, he got one. He’s always trying to become better,” said Cash.
“Nadal he’s been a real role model for that. Then Djokovic stepped it up. Then Roger Federer stepped it up. Marin Cilic as well has improved. You’ve got to keep improving. And if that’s the last thing he’s got to fix, better late than never.”
