Murray hails Brad Gilbert as one of the best

Players Under the Microscope / Editor / 27 March 2007 / Leave a Comment

Andy Murray has lauded Brad Gilbert as one of the best coaches in the world as he bids to break into the world's top ten.

The British number one has made an impressive start to 2007, reaching the final in Doha, winning in San Jose and making the semi-finals in both Memphis and Indian Wells.

His exit at the hands of Novak Djokovic in Indian Wells was hampered by an ankle injury which denied him the chance to join the world's elite, with his Serbian conqueror taking the number ten slot in the updated rankings.

However the 19-year-old Scot, currently 12th in the world, is now over his injury problems and has progressed to the fourth round in Miami and he believes Gilbert is the reason behind his rise up the ladder.

"He brings a lot to the table. He's a great player himself. He's coached a lot of good players," Murray said.

"I would say, tactically, he's one of the best coaches in the game. So he knows how I should be playing against a lot of the players."

Murray believes that Gilbert was forced to become a great tactician as his career as a player was not particularly great, which is now helping the Dunblane-born ace to better his own game.

"He's watched so much tennis, and I would say from the way he played, that was what he had to do well," the Scot said

"He had to figure out his opponent's weaknesses, because his game wasn't as good as the other players. But he knew exactly how to get at his opponent's weaknesses, and that's what he's kind of taught me.

"It helps a lot when you go into these matches having such good tactics."

Murray, an outsider at 26 to lift the trophy in Miami, faces Paul Henri Mathieu in the fourth round and is strongly fancied to progress at 1.32, with the Frenchman available at 4.

Whether Murray can go even further in the sport this year remains to be seen but he has recently been matched at 10 to win one of the remaining Grand Slam tournaments in 2007.