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Andy Murray stated his ex-coaches will not be hitting any balls when he takes on Grigor Dimitrov at the US Open on Thursday. The Bulgarian No.19 seed has worked with Dani Vallevadu since 2016 – and added Jamie Delgado to his coaching team this season.<\/p>\n
Both men were big parts of Team Murray with Venezuelan Vallvadu there when he won his first two Majors – and former Davis Cup veteran Delgado was assistant for his second Wimbledon win in 2016.<\/p>\n
The Scot always raises his game – and sometimes the tension – against players coached by his old employees. His now-wife Kim was famously caught on camera swearing at Tomas Berdych – then coached by Venezuelan Vallverdu – during his 2015 Australian Open semi-final win.<\/p>\n
And the 2012 US Open champion said: \u201cI’ve played quite a lot of matches against ex-coaches. I think I’ve only lost once. Dani and Delgie are good coaches. They know the game very well. But they are not the ones out there hitting the balls. We are the ones who have to go out there and do that and execute under pressure. And I back my own brain and tactical understanding of the game.<\/p>\n
Click here to join our WhatsApp community to be the first to receive breaking and exclusive tennis news<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWhen I step up to the line to serve, they have no idea of what is going on in my mind. They don\u2019t know what I am thinking. They don\u2019t know what it is that I am feeling. Coaches don\u2019t know that.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I am hitting a hard backhand cross-court, what does that feel like? When I am hitting a high topspin forehand, it is just not that simple. And if it was then.. After I worked with Miles (Maclagan), I played against a few guys. Dani has coached against me quite a few times as well. I have always done well in those matches. It probably should be a big advantage for him to have two guys that have worked with me over the years. But we’ll find out.”<\/p>\n The Scot\u2019s only defeat came against Stan Wawrinka at the 2020 French Open when he was coached by Vallverdu. But his ignominious Wimbledon quarter-final defeat to Dimitrov as defending champion in 2014 hastened the departure of the Venezuelan from the Murray team then led by Amelie Mauresmo.<\/p>\n In the seven Wimbledons before suffering his hip injury in 2017, Murray twice won the title and lost twice to both Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer – and to then world No.13 Dimitrov.<\/p>\n World No.27 Murray, who has Scot Jonny O\u2019Mara along with Ivan Lendl in New York, said: \u201cI remember that I was struggling a lot in 2014 and obviously I’d had the back surgery at the end of 2013. \u201cI had a lot of losses that were maybe not the norm for me. And yes that was probably one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n Former world No.3 Dimitrov, who trails Murray 3-8 in their head-to-head, said: \u201cThere are no secrets there with or without the coaches coming out there on court. Of course me, Jamie and Dani, will talk about it but there are not going to be any crazy strategies or anything like that. It is a pretty straightforward match.\u201d<\/p>\n We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/72\/590x\/secondary\/4935271.jpg?r=1693424242317\")
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