Boris Becker believes Andy Murray is joint favourite to win
the US Open, despite the absebce of coach Miles Maclagan.Murray and Maclagan
parted company at the end of July, but the British number one is not keen to appoint a successor as he seeks a first
Grand Slam title in New York.
"I would put Murray and Roger Federer together as the
favourites," German legend Becker said. "I think it may be quite
liberating for Murray at the
moment, as there will be relief that he has made the decision to sack Maclagan,
and so some of the pressure is off.
"But playing without a full-time coach is a solution
for now, it's not a solution for the long term. Some people might suggest that
he would be better off without a coach, but I believe that he needs to hire
someone experienced."
Becker concedes there are a very limited number of coaches
who would fit the bill, but still believes Murray should have parted company
with Maclagan sooner, asserting that the world number four probably never fully
respected the Zambian-born former professional as he was never an elite player.
"I feel as though he shouldn't have stayed with
Maclagan for as long as he did, and should have fired him six months ago,"
Becker added. "I thought Murray
had to do something after Wimbledon, that he needed to
make a change to the team around him. I called that at the time.
"Yes, Murray
has made this change just a month before the US Open, just before an important
time of year for him with the North American hard-court season, but there's
never a perfect time to sack your coach.
"He has played well and had some good results,
including reaching the final in Los Angeles
and winning the title in Toronto,
and he must have felt a certain amount of relief about that.
"From what I hear, Murray was considering a change in
his coaching set-up in the spring, and I think it would have been best for him
to have sacked Maclagan before the clay-court season.
"Realistically, Murray was never going to win the
French Open, and he would have had the whole of the clay-court season to get to
know his new coach, for them to learn each other's 'language'. And then, by Wimbledon,
they each would have known how the other one operates.
"Murray
needs to fully respect his coach and I don't think it helped Maclagan that he
had not played in grand slam semi-finals and finals. Murray
knew that Maclagan hadn't been there and done that."
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