andy splits from petch

Count Zero · Tennis legend

andy splits from petch

indiana · Tennis legend

Yes, was just reading about it on BBC website :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/4910582.stm

Count Zero · Tennis legend

good or bad i wonder, i remember they had a difference of agreement earlier in the year oer the style of play which andy didnt like.

i think he is after a more high profile coach, i wonder who it will be.

Drew · Apr 14, 2006

Petch is a really good coach and a good bloke into the bargain. Hope this is not a mistake.

Petch might have taken Andy as far as he could go....lets wait and see !

indiana · Tennis legend

I certainly don't think there will be a shortage of good coaches willing to get involved with Andy.

I just hope he can find a top-class coach fairly soon ( while he rightly might not want to hurry into things, don't think he should take too long ) that he is happy with and can develop a LONG TERM relationship with.

The speculation from Jonathan Overend on Radio 5 Live was what you suggested, down to style of play, i.e. that Petchey had been trying to make Andy more attacking rather than a more safety conscious counter attack player.

I'm not sure I can make up my mind on that one. I initially had my doubts when I heard that they were trying to move in that direction right at the start of the year and his rather disappointing 1st month of the year rather confirmed my thoughts. Then he went and won San Jose, and I began to reason that teething problems with a change of style were to be expected, but it was all beginning to come good.

I think I am coming round to the view though that while he has been very successful over the last year being fairly conservative that he has sometimes not taken chances to take control of rallies when he should. He has also once or twice looked slightly overpowered by top players just blasting away at him. Maybe Petchey was just going too far too quickly in trying to change a fundamentally solid game.

PS : Can someone improve his service please, even intially back to where we were last year ?

-- Edited by indiana at 17:02, 2006-04-14

kundalini · Specialist Reporter + Intermediate Club Player

Hardly unexpected news as Andy recent press conferences have contained a number of subtle hints that the relationship had broken down.

Watching Andy play this year it has been evident that he has been confused about how to construct points, most notably on his own serve. The drop shots have disappeared, and the sense of tormenting his opponent has gone - I've always felt that Andy's favourate play would be drop shot followed by lob. The one match where his pattern of play looked impressive was the Hewitt match, and against Roddick he also structured the points in his favour. This was the week that Petchey missed, and interestingly, Andy spoke of being far more relaxed with Kim as his companion.

Petchey's tournament schedule have followed the same pattern throughout their 10 months together - he wants Andy playing every week. While they were chasing the goal of a top 100 place this approach seemed to work but in the long run it was always going to be unsustainable. What was Andy doing in Zagreb for instance? Why was he even on the entry list for Sunrise? How often does he have to complain about being exhausted before they take notice?

In fact Mark has taken a slightly strange approach to Andy's development. While talking of Andy not being ready for another 2 years, his actions seem more directed towards the short term.

I guess Andy is pretty strong minded, and is basically pissed off that his form has been so poor and the person that takes the blame is the coach. Mark seems to have forgotten that Andy was always going to be the ultimate decision maker - so pushing Andy to play events when he wanted to have a break was a really bad move on Mark's part.

As for Andy's game, I'm not clear what it was that Petchey wanted from Andy. Andy's biggest problem (after the serve) is that he tends towards being too passive in matches. In the past he has used the drop shot as a proactive measure (and a percentage play in his favour too) but that tactic seems to have been pushed aside. This year the double handed backhand has been seen more often, and while it is still a great shot, the success rate is down.

Mark did a reasonable job in the 10 months they were together. I still think he is a decent coach but sometimes you do wonder about his judgement.

-- Edited by kundalini at 18:13, 2006-04-14

RJA · Hall of fame

I can't say as I'm too unhappy about this. I was originally dubious about whether Petchey was the right man to be coaching Andy and although things worked out fairly well I have never been convinced that they were completely on the same wave length. As kundalini has already said, with the exception of San Jose (where Petchey wasn't there) Andy has for some time looked unsure about how he should be playing. I just hope that Andy has made this decision for the right reasons and after some serious thought.