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Henman rules himself out of Murray coaching role

Tim Henman and Andy Murray cheer on Jamie Murray © Getty Images

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Former British No. 1 Tim Henman has ruled himself out of the running to be Andy Murray's next coach, following the Scot's split from Alex Corretja.

Henman had been tipped in some quarters, including by Murray's former coach Brad Gilbert, to be the man best suited to the 23-year-old's needs and demands. But the 36-year-old - who was recently unveiled as an ambassador for London 2012 and thus could yet work with Murray in that capacity - feels he is not ready to commit to the time and travel needed to deal with the world No. 5.

"I'm a great supporter of Andy's and wouldn't rule out coaching at some time in the future, but not now," Henman told the Daily Mail.

With Henman out of the running, Gilbert has backed current front-runner Ivan Lendl as the man who can bring the best out of the Australian Open finalist, despite reported concerns from the player's camp that the Czech - who has devoted much of his recent time to his daughters' burgeoning golf careers - has never previously been a full-time coach to a tour player.

On the contrary, Gilbert believes Lendl's experience of losing four grand slam finals (Murray has now lost three) before going on to win eight puts him in a unique position to aid the player.

"I don't think it matters that he hasn't coached on tour before," Gilbert said. "You're talking about a very smart and intelligent guy who has incredible experience of the game and has been through what Andy has in terms of early grand slam finals.

"He would garner a lot of respect and he's not someone who would do anything unless he could do it properly. There aren't many guys right for this position."

Lendl's former coach, Australian Tony Roche, Marin Cilic's trainer Bob Brett and Jim Connors have also been linked with the vacancy - although Murrary could yet decide to proceed without an official coach.

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