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Murray drops hint that he may not enlist new coach

Andy Murray is prepared to retain his current coaching setup © Getty Images

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New world No. 4 Andy Murray has dropped a major hint that he may go into the 2011 ATP Tour calendar without enlisting the help of a new coach.

Murray has been without a head coach since midway through the season, when he parted company with Miles Maclagan. Since then his major source of advice has come from part-time consultant Alex Corretja.

Speculation has frequently simmered over a link-up with a range of former players, including John McEnroe and Boris Becker, although the German recently revealed he had not been approached, saying: "I've not had any contact with Andy or any of his team and sitting down to talk to him has just not happened."

It was expected that Murray would approach a new coach before the next grand slam, January's Australian Open, but for the first time the British No. 1 has confessed he may retain his current setup.

"I could just carry on like this," Murray said in the Daily Telegraph. "I like working with the guys I work with. I have started improving and learning stuff again. It comes down to the small differences. I need to train like the best player, that's the only choice I have."

Murray lost in the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Finals, coming out on the wrong side of a thriller against Rafael Nadal, and he admits it is now his own job to maintain that playing level for 12 months.

"I need to be able to play that level for the whole year - over five sets, everything - to compete with Rafa and Roger over the whole year. This is a huge motivation."

ATP Tour Rankings
1. Rafael Nadal (SPA), 2. Roger Federer (SUI), 3. Novak Djokovic (SRB), 4. Andy Murray (GBR), 5. Robin Soderling (SWE), 6. Tomas Berdych (CZE), 7. David Ferrer (SPA), 8. Andy Roddick (USA), 9. Fernando Verdasco (SPA), 10. Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)

WTA Tour Rankings
1. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN), 2. Vera Zvonareva (RUS), 3. Kim Clijsters (BEL), 4. Serena Williams (USA), 5. Venus Williams (USA), 6. Sam Stosur (AUS), 7. Francesca Schiavone (ITA), 8. Jelena Jankovic (SRB), 9. Elena Dementieva (RUS), 10. Victoria Azarenka (BLR)

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