Andy Murray managed to put together the perfect career farewell with an extended run of doubles victories at the Paris Olympics.
It certainly became the fairytale ending Andy Murray was both so desperate for and so aggrieved to have missed out on at Wimbledon.
A run to the quarter-finals in Paris saw the pair lose out to childhood best friends Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul, who eventually came away with a bronze medal.
Along with Dan Evans, the British duo saved seven match points in their first two matches to keep the dream alive.
While the Scot’s glittering career came to such a reluctant close earlier this month, Murray was quick to embrace his retirement, enjoying all the fanfare and festivities the Olympics has to offer.
With no definitive next step for Murray as he takes a break from the tour, Tim Henman has been speculating over the potential plans for the Scot to undertake a coaching role.
Tim Henman says Andy Murray would be a great tennis coach
Having left British tennis in a far more impressive state than when he started, Murray’s teary farewell was enough to make the whole tennis world come together.
With Murray receiving retirement messages from Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, the Brit’s work might be back on more quickly than he anticipated.
Henman has suggested Murray is perfectly suited for a coaching role and would be keen to take it up.
“There’s plenty of different avenues he could go down and coaching is one that he’s said he would potentially enjoy,” the former British number one told The Express.
“Given his tennis IQ, I think he would make a very, very good coach. But right now, we’re having this conversation and it’s been barely been a week since he stopped playing.”
Henman however was quick to quell rumours of an immediate comeback.
“It’s important that he takes his time and, whether it’s six months or two years, that he can just relax, and take a step back to enjoy himself, then look at all the different opportunities because coaching will be one of a long list of opportunities.”
The pundit has been active in his engagement with British players, with Henman recently defending Emma Raducanu after her decision to skip two qualifying events before the US Open came under scrutiny.
Which players could Andy Murray coach?
Having been through a fair few coaches himself, Murray was mostly guided by Ivan Lendl, with the stony-faced Czech-American helping the Brit to his two Olympic golds and three grand slam titles.
With coaching a natural career progression for former players, Murray’s impact on some of Britain’s younger players could be incredibly insightful.
Jack Draper and Raducanu seem like two obvious choices for developing players who both admire Murray and might be seeking to add coaches to their roster as they progress.
Raducanu has undergone several coaching changes already despite only being 21, while Draper is already coached by a former British player in James Trotman.
It’s certainly a long way to go but with Murray having given such a great deal to British tennis, perhaps he might be willing to contribute some more in a different role.
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