John McEnroe got his answer on Friday. Now the tennis world waits to see whether McEnroe is Andy Murray's answer.
Andy Murray's next coach impressed with Murray's run through Roland Garros
Before Andy Murray's semifinals match against Rafael Nadal at the French Open, McEnroe said the match would be a test to determine whether Murray was all the way back as a Grand Slam contender after a disappointing stretch following his breakthrough victory at Wimbledon last year.
After Nadal's 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 victory over Murray, it appears as if Murray still has a long road ahead of him. The question is whether McEnroe will take that road with him.
That answer should be "yes."
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Murray dusted off some of his grit at Roland Garros, defeating Philipp Kohlschreiber and Gael Monfils in five sets to get to the semifinal. But Murray had not beaten a player ranked in the top 10 since his Wimbledon victory, and McEnroe told the Daily Record that Murray hadn't proven that he was back to his Wimbledon form mentally.
"The (Roger) Federer match at the Australia Open, I don't think he was ready mentally and I'm not sure physically, to do what it took," McEnroe said of Murray. "He thought Federer was going to go away after he lost the third set. He wasn't ready for him not to do that.
"Murray showed that against Kohlschreiber towards the end but that's Kohlschreiber. And mentally he's shown over the course of his career he's more disciplined and tougher than Monfils. That's not Nadal or Novak Djokovic. Now against Nadal in the semis it's: 'Let's see how far he's going to go here.' "
Murray said Nadal played another fantastic match on clay. But Murray said he was deeply disappointed in his own play.
He did mention that he felt at a disadvantage in playing Nadal and No. 2-ranked Novak Djokovic, whom Murray would've met in the finals had he somehow gotten past Nadal.
"On this surface it's harder for me because it's not my best and they are two of the greatest clay-court players," Murray said.
Would McEnroe ever have admitted being at a disadvantage?
Before the start of the French Open, former Andre Agassi coach Darren Cahill revealed to the Independent that he was not in the running to become Murray's coach but thought McEnroe could help Murray with the mental aspects in the game, similar to those that Lendl taught him.
"John McEnroe, on paper, would be a great choice. He's great to talk to," Cahill said. "John's got a lot going on in his life, but I would certainly encourage those two to sit down if that was ever going to happen.
"Andy needs that little extra. He's the type of guy and the type of personality that needs inspiration every time he steps onto the practice court. For Andy to look to the side of the court and see someone who has travelled down the same path as the one he's travelling down, I think for him that makes a big difference."
McEnroe has that. What he doesn't seem to have that Cahill thinks is imperative is a lot of free time.
"For me the most important thing is that Andy picks someone he feels can be with him for the rest of his career," Cahill said.
It's the reason Cahill isn't Murray's manager. Cahill wanted to spend more time with his outside interests - his family, rather than commit to the amount of time he figured Murray would need.
Murray has said he has selected a coach, adding it was "50-50" on whether he would make the name public.
It was McEnroe, however, who suggested that he was willing to coach Murray, and Murray has been up front about the time requirements he wants from his coach. So McEnroe could be ready to put his media commitments and other interests aside to follow the Brit.
Murray doesn't seem to need a lot of help with the technical aspects of the game. He just needs that same confidence he had during the 2013 Wimbledon. McEnroe can give him that.
It remains to be seen whether McEnroe was asking about Murray's readiness against Nadal on Friday as a fan or a future coach.
After winning just six games against Nadal, it's time for Murray to pull the trigger.
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