Friday, 5 September, 2008

Andy Murray's former coach Brad Gilbert has admitted there were tensions in his relationship with the British number one, but has backed his former charge to achieve "great things".

The Lawn Tennis Association employed American Gilbert to take the Scot to the next level, but Murray eventually made the decision to dispense with his services before the end of the LTA contract.

"There was a big age difference and a culture difference - it was the first time I had coached a non-American," Gilbert told The Guardian. "Andy is very argumentative if he feels strongly about something. A lot of people in his team gave into him. I didn't so we would argue, about sports mostly."

But despite conceding the problems which existed in his dealings, Gilbert has enjoyed Murray's surge into the top six of the world rankings and believes he has the ability to become a first-class player.

"People expect me to be bitter but I'm not. Look around and you'll see how many coaches get fired," he added.

"We still speak. He is now doing a lot of things I was asking him to do, like being much more aggressive and stop hitting so many damn drop shots.

"If he plays more like that then great things are going to happen to him because he has great talent."

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