
Murray open to coaching return 'at some stage'
Andy Murray is open to a return to coaching "at some stage" but says he still has plenty to learn about the role. The 38-year-old, who retired from tennis at the 2024 Olympics, joined long-time rival Novak Djokovic's coaching team last November.However, the pair parted company in May 2025 after just four tournaments together, with former number one Djokovic stating he "couldn't get more" out of their partnership.Murray was positive about the six months he and Djokovic spent together, hailing the "unique" experience of working with "one of the best athletes of all time", while also stating he had not planned on making the transition into coaching quite so soon after hanging up his racquet."I would do it again at some stage. I don't think that will happen immediately," he told BBC Sport's Clare Balding at the unveiling of the Andy Murray Arena at the Queen's Club on Monday. "I wasn't planning on going into coaching as soon as I finished playing but it was a pretty unique opportunity. It was a chance to learn from one of the best athletes of all time."You also learn a lot about how to work with a team. As an individual athlete, you have a team of people around you, but you're the focal point whereas when you're coaching an individual, you're working with a physio, physical trainers, agents, and you need to know how to get your message across to the player and find out what makes them tick. That was the thing I learned and something I need to work on if I want to do it again in the future."It was a brilliant opportunity for me. We got to spend some really nice moments away from the court. Results weren't as we wanted but we gave it a go."We'll see about coaching in the future but I don't think that will happen for a while."
'Men's tennis is in a great place'
While the jam-packed nature of tennis' schedule means focus has already shifted to the grass-court swing, this year's men's singles final at Roland Garros will be remembered as one of the all-time greats.Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz recovered from two sets down and saved three championship points to beat world number one Jannik Sinner after five hours and 29 minutes – the longest French Open final in history.The pair, who occupy the top two spots in the ATP rankings, have now shared the past six major titles between them and Sunday's final – their first meeting in a Grand Slam trophy match – confirmed the arrival of a new blockbuster rivalry in men's tennis.Murray believes Sunday's final is confirmation the sport is in a "great place" and tipped Britain's Jack Draper, ranked fourth in the world, to be part of the success."They're both brilliant athletes and very different personalities, which I think for fans is really exciting," Murray said. "For me, particularly Alcaraz has an exciting brand of tennis to watch, and they complement each other well. They've already had some brilliant matches and from what I've been told, it was one of the best finals for a long time."
"Moving forward, men's tennis is in a great place. People always worry at the end of a generation of players what's going to happen with the sport next, but generally sports continue to evolve and, in most cases, improve."Jack [Draper]'s right in the mix just now and doing extremely well. He's going to give himself opportunities to win majors over the next five, 10 years."However, while heaping praise on the next generation, Murray was keen to emphasise that Alcaraz and Sinner have a long way to go to match the 20 years of dominance achieved by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic."The sport's in a really good place but it's important not to forget what the guys have done before them, what Roger, Rafa and Novak have done," he added."Winning 20-plus majors is something exceptional and it's easy in today's age to forget a little bit about that. I saw some pundits saying if [Alcaraz and Sinner] went on court against Rafa at the French Open, they would be favourites going into that match with Rafa in his prime."Alcaraz and Sinner are on the path to being two of the best, no doubt about that, but it takes time to build what Roger, Rafa, and Novak had. We'll see whether they get that."
'Queen's is always special for me'
Murray is synonymous with Queen's. The Scot is the most successful player in the tournament's history, winning a record five men's singles titles between 2009 and 2016. He also won the men's doubles with Feliciano Lopez in 2019.From this year, however, his name will not just adorn the honour's board but also the centre court at Queen's Club, which has been renamed the Andy Murray Arena."It's pretty surreal," he said. "A number of tennis courts around the world are named after great players. It's a bit strange to have a court named after you."I have a lot of amazing memories at this place and on that court. It's by far my most successful tournament that I competed in.
"I won my first ATP match here. I didn't dream of winning Wimbledon or being world number one, I just wanted to be a professional tennis player and play on the ATP tour. Moments like that, you remember; it was a special moment for me."Winning the tournament feels great and winning major events is the pinnacle of the sport but that wasn't my dream growing up. You remember moments like the place where you won your first tour match and that's why Queen's is always special to me."This grass-court season marks the return of women's tennis to Queen's for the first time in 52 years, with singles and doubles events taking place from 9 to 15 June before the men take to the courts the following week (16-22 June)."Having women's tennis back at Queen's for the first time in over 50 years is brilliant," Murray said."I hope the event gets well attended. They've got a brilliant field – I think 10 of the top 20 women are here. There'll be some brilliant matches and I always look forward to the grass season."

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The Sun
24 minutes ago
- The Sun
‘I might get on before Ivan Toney' jokes ITV commentator Lee Dixon as Saudi star cuts frustrated figure on England bench
IVAN TONEY looked glum as he watched on from the bench as England lost to Senegal. The striker was recalled to the squad by Thomas Tuchel but played for just eight minutes including stoppage time across matches against Andorra and Senegal. 2 2 And he looked stunned as he sat on the substitutes' bench in the 70th minute as Noni Madueke prepared to come on. ITV commentator Lee Dixon joked: "I might get on before Toney." England trailed 2-1 at the time and Tuchel had already brought on Morgan Rogers and Morgan Gibbs-White ahead of Toney. The Al-Ahli striker had to wait until the 88th minute to try and impact the match, as fellow subs Madueke and Jude Bellingham had failed to do so. Bellingham did find the net from close range but the goal was disallowed because a handball from Levi Colwill in the build-up, with Senegal going on to win 3-1. Tuchel was asked after the match about his decision to leave Toney on the bench until the final few minutes. He said: "First of all it was more than three minutes." "Second of all I think that Ivan is a specialist for exactly these situations. "We created a lot of chances with Morgan Gibbs-White, with Ebs [Eberechi Eze], with Morgan Rodgers, and with Jude in fluid positions. "I think Ivan is strongest when we have a phase where we have a lot of balls in the box and that was the case so after 80minutes we got him ready. Roy Keane slams 'LAZY' Kyle Walker for role in Senegal goal vs England as ITV star says 'can't make mistakes like that' "Then we scored and they took the goal away and it took a little while longer than we wanted but that's what he can give - presence in the box and a goal later in the match." Ian Wright and Roy Keane showed sympathy after the match, suggesting he ought to have been brought on earlier. Wright told ITV: "He's seen him all week and didn't look to put him on until late. I don't know what he has seen in training that he may not like up to this point. "I was very surprised not to see him come on... I would be disappointed if I was him."


BBC News
27 minutes ago
- BBC News
O'Neill pleased with Northern Ireland 'character'
Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill says he was pleased with the resilience shown by his young side in Tuesday's 1-0 win over Price opened the scoring in a low-key first half before Brodie Spencer was sent off in the 57th minute of the Windsor Park Ireland absorbed plenty of late pressure, but escaped with a win after Pierce Charles' late save to deny Isak Bergmann Johannesson before Ruairi McConville hooked the ball off the line."I'm pleased to win the game given the circumstances and going down to 10 men when we did," O'Neill told BBC Sport NI. "We showed great character and determination to defend our goal and we had to. We carried a little bit of threat as well."O'Neill admitted Northern Ireland didn't "start the game particularly well" as Iceland dominated possession the early stages. However, Price's effort lit up the first half and gave the hosts the spark they had been looking for. O'Neill feels his side will have to improve for World Cup qualifying in September, when they travel to Luxembourg and Germany, but his young side will carry plenty of momentum into their opening matches. "It took us 25 minutes to get going, we gave up a lot of possession without giving up any chances, to be honest," O'Neill added."We worked our way into the game and got the goal. With the opportunities we had, we could have scored again."The red card changes things and you have to defend, but we still carried a threat. It's a good result for us against a difficult team and a good way for us to finish the camp and the year."


Times
29 minutes ago
- Times
England booed off after Senegal loss as Thomas Tuchel faces big questions
We've seen it before, Jude Bellingham at the death, whacking home to rescue England. That's how it seemed when Bellingham controlled with his thigh, volleyed past Édouard Mendy and the score on the big screen went to 2-2, and Jude the hero stuck out his tongue and whipped up the City Ground crowd. But The Adventures of Thomas Tuchel in England really are not following the script. Bellingham's 'goal' was disallowed after a VAR check showed the ball came his way off Levi Colwill's arm. And the motif ended up not being a Bellingham celebration but Bellingham smashing the ball away, booting a bucket and screeching at the fourth official as boos hailed down on England's expensive imported manager. As the scoreboard, now at full-time, showed England 1 Senegal 3. Oh, this was grim. Worse than Andorra, worse than England at Euro 2024 — they did not play well in those matches either but at least they got results. Here, they started with a return to 4-4-2 and ended with a return to blind panic and chaos. The eventual formation was something like 3-3-3-1: three defenders, and two tiers of wingers and No 10s behind Ivan Toney. The final action was Senegal scoring their third with the kind of counterattack so easy it would usually be seen on the training ground against mannequins. Lamine Camarra ran down the right and centred for the substitute Cheikh Sabaly to sidefoot home. The England supporters who had not already left for all those nice pubs by the Trent erupted in jeers and the small section of Senegalese, behind the goal Sabaly scored into, danced and sang. If Saturday's miserable 1-0 win against Andorra was the end of the Tuchel honeymoon this was the start of divorce proceedings in the minds of some fans, one of whom yelled 'Tuchel out' at the press box. The worst thing was Senegal, at last, offered the type of open, attack-minded opposition that gave England a quick game and space to play in — in contrast to their three previous Tuchel matches, against low-block sides who slowed things down. You expected them to look better with these dynamics. Instead they looked worse. They had started well, with Harry Kane scoring from close in and Conor Gallagher and Eberechi Eze injecting energy into their game. But quickly they became easy to play through and Ismaïla Sarr's equaliser just before half-time was overdue. The goal with which Senegal took control of the game, in the 62nd minute, summed up all the raggedness and meekness of England's defending. From deep, Kalidou Koulibaly lofted a teasing ball down England's left. Myles Lewis-Skelly did not know whether to hold position or go out to Krépin Diatta and looked to Morgan Gibbs-White, but Gibbs-White just stood there as Habib Diarra escaped him to run through and collect the ball. Diarra shot between Dean Henderson's legs. The stage invited England to give a performance. Evening sun bathed the stands and the City Ground pulsed with an energy Wembley so often lacks. Nottingham Forest's Forza Garibaldi fan group unfurled a giant tifo honouring Viv Anderson, the first black footballer to play for England, who was raised in the Nottingham suburb of Clifton. After Andorra, Tuchel knew he had to serve these fans something and plumped for the full English. England lined up in a 4-4-2 for the first time since Roy Hodgson was in charge. It was a nuanced version, with Kane and Eze playing in partnership and usually level with each other but often dropping off in tandem while Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon advanced to become England's highest players. GETTY This system had some success, with Kane enjoying receiving the ball deep and turning to spear diagonal passes. But there were also times when Senegal found it easy to play quickly through a flat, outnumbered England midfield. And when the Senegalese pressed high they were able to pen in England's back four, who then had to go long. It was less building through the thirds than hammering it to the nines. One of Tuchel's beliefs, however, is that more important than tactics are 'behaviours' and some showed the traits he wants in England players: aggression, positive intent and speed of action. Gallagher throbbed with these as he led the pressing, and some brilliant pressuring from him and Eze forced the door open for England to score in the seventh minute. Senegal overplayed deep, with Camara turning infield and trying to take the ball on a run in front of his defence. The midfielder plays in the Botola Pro League of Morocco, which may not be as fast paced as the Premier League, and he believed he had time. But converging on him from behind were Gallagher and Eze, and Eze came away with the ball, feeding Gallagher, who stepped past Diatta and slipped a pass to Gordon. Using the side of his foot, Gordon shot low, catching Mendy before he was set. Mendy could not get his hands on the ball and it squirmed free, off his body, and Kane was there to tap in his 73rd England goal. England forced other good situations but — as in Tuchel's previous games — were lacking in the final action. When Gallagher won high possession again with his pressing and fed Saka, Saka began one of his mazy runs inside that in Arsenal colours nearly always end with a testing left-foot shot. But he overdid the dribble and lost possession. A far worse piece of wastefulness involved Gordon in the 27th minute. England put together their crispest move of the half, with Declan Rice, Gallagher and Saka zipping passes and Saka releasing Kyle Walker on the right. Walker whipped a searching, low ball across the face of goal and all Gordon had to do was steer it home at the back post, but he lost concentration and knocked it wide. Yet even while England were creating chances, Senegal were having plenty of success going the other way. Iliman Ndiaye had opened England up after only four minutes, gliding between Lewis-Skelly and Gallagher and caressing a pass to Nicolas Jackson, and Henderson used his legs to make a good save from Jackson. Walker was slow to track back for Senegal's equaliser… ITV … and Sarr pounced to make it 1-1 REUTERS After ten minutes Henderson was having to palm away a drive from Idrissa Gueye and, midway through the half, Tuchel had his hands on his knees and was shouting at Lewis-Skelly to be more aggressive when his failure to close allowed Diatta to play inside and begin a switch of play. The ball went out to El Hadji Malick Diouf, the left back, who bent a brilliant cross on to the head of the arriving Sarr. Henderson made a fine save from his Crystal Palace team-mate's powerful header. A further warning came when Ndiaye went on another dribble and laid back to Gueye, who shot through a crowd of bodies to force another stop from Henderson. But it went unheeded and Senegal's equaliser showed up all of England's worst traits. Carelessness, complacency, passivity. Far more players evidenced these bad 'behaviours' than there were those demonstrating the good ones. These included, very worryingly, all of England's defensive players, and when Gueye collected possession deep and nine-ironed a fine long pass to Jackson, Trevoh Chalobah did nothing to pressure his Chelsea team-mate. Jackson hooked the ball back and there was Sarr, far too quick for wheezing old Walker, ready to smack it in. Walker was booked for a weary challenge just before half-time and straight after the interval Senegal attacked down his side again, with Diouf crossing and Gueye skying a great chance. Tuchel introduced Morgan Rogers, Curtis Jones and — to great roars — Gibbs-White just before Senegal's second goal, and with Kane off, Rogers joined Eze up front. The changes gave England a jolt of energy and when Eze's brilliant back-heel teed up Gibbs-White it was all set for the local favourite to be the hero — but Gibbs-White shot straight at Mendy. Then, after superb combination play involving Gibbs-White and Eze, Saka failed to beat Mendy from eight yards. Again, playing for Arsenal, it surely would have been different. Tuchel must be the latest to wonder: just what does this England shirt do to players? England (4-2-3-1): D Henderson 7 — K Walker 4, T Chalobah 5, L Colwill 5, M Lewis-Skelly 5 (I Toney 88) — B Saka 6 (N Madueke 71), C Gallagher 7 (C Jones 59, 6), D Rice 5 (J Bellingham 71), A Gordon 6 (M Gibbs-White 58, 6) — H Kane 7 (M Rogers 59, 6), E Eze 7. Booked Walker, Colwill. Senegal (4-3-3) É Mendy 7 —K Diatta 8, K Koulibaly 7, M Niakhaté 6, E Diouf 7 —H Diarra 8 (P Gueye 71), I Gueye 9, L Camara 6 — I Sarr 8 (C Sabaly 70), N Jackson 7 (B Dia 82), I Ndiaye 7. Booked Diatta.