Once Jonas Bjorkman has finished a stint on Sweden’s version of Strictly Come Dancing, he will rush towards the embrace of Andy Murray, who has identified the former world No4 as his preferred choice as assistant coach to replace Dani Vallverdu.
Murray is playing in Indian Wells – where rumours first surfaced a year ago that Ivan Lendl was ending their two-year coaching relationship – and will confirm this week that he will talk with Bjorkman, who turns 43 later in a couple of weeks, offering him a job on a trial basis if the Swede agrees to terms.
Bjorkman – currently strutting his stuff on a TV programme called Let’s Dance – is an interesting selection. A player who grew up in the Swedish tradition that values attitude and tennis philosophy alongside hard work, he would be a good fit with Amélie Mauresmo, who replaced Lendl last summer.
Mauresmo has committed to 25 weeks of the year, so Bjorkman, if he gets the job, would be expected to take up the slack, although it is uncertain if he fulfils Murray’s earlier requirement that his No2 coach should be based in London.
A doubles specialist who reached No1 in the world and won 54 doubles titles, including nine in slams, before retiring in 2008 at the age of 36, Bjorkman should bring the expertise of touch and presence at the net. These are invaluable skills in doubles but increasingly important in singles, as the emphasis shifts from attrition to the quick kill.
The synergy between Murray, Bjorkman and Mauresmo will be crucial to the relationship, an echo in some ways of the dual roles played by Miles Maclagan and Àlex Corretja, before internal strains and different priorities led to the disintegration of that partnership, and that between Lendl and Vallverdu, who gelled surprisingly well.
Murray’s history with coaches has been a bit of a rollercoaster, with Mark Petchey taking over from Leon Smith at the start of his professional career, giving way briefly to Brad Gilbert, whose tenure started well but ended in acrimony.
Maclagan left in 2010, Corretja, a clay-court specialist, the following year, after which Murray deliberated for six months until he picked up with Lendl at the 2012 Australian Open. It was a period of confusion in his career that the Czech dramatically turned around.
However, Murray was disappointed to lose Vallverdu when Mauresmo joined him just before Wimbledon last year, and clearly there was friction in the camp. Vallverdu left to join Tomas Berdych and guided him to the semi-finals in Melbourne this year, where he lost to Murray, an occasion remembered for the expletives Murray’s fiancee, Kim Sears, mouthed towards Berdych.
Mauresmo hooks up with Murray again this week and at the Miami Open, which starts on 25 March. They have already discussed Bjorkman and other candidates, so it is clear there has been a consensus.
Just as Vallverdu was Murray’s confidant until they split – amicably, both parties insist – so Bjorkman will have tomust establish a rapport as member of a tightknit team.
“It’s an extremely tough season this year,” Bjorkman told the ATP website of his experience on the dance floor. “It’s different than tennis. It’s more like golf. You can only go out and do your best. You can’t do anything if someone else is dancing better, and if the people who are voting love them more than yourself. It’s all up to them.”
His next audition, at least, is a more familiar one on the tennis court.
