Rising star Laura Robson hires Andy Murray's old coach

Promising British teenager Laura Robson will work with Andy Murray‘s former coach during the grass-court season, it was announced Tuesday.

Miles Maclagan, a former Great Britain Davis Cup player, coached Murray to his first Grand Slam final at the US Open in 2008 but split from the Scot in 2010 after two-and-a-half years working alongside him.

Since jettisoning the services of Croatian Zeljko Krajan last month, the 19-year-old Robson has been without a coach.

Maclagan said he was excited by the talent of Robson, who has beaten Kim Clijsters, Li Na and Petra Kvitova in Grand Slam events.

“That is the big attraction of it,” he told BBC Radio Five Live on Tuesday.

“She clearly has the mind for the big stadiums, for the big time, to take on the big players. It’s a key ingredient in anyone who’s going to play well.

“There’s a lot I need to learn about the women’s tour and, to be honest, Laura’s not someone I’ve really studied. I’ve watched her just in passing rather than studied her, so there’s a lot about her game that I need to know.

“But just to see those things — a young player with a lot of firepower and the ability to take on the top players — is exciting.”

Robson is the world’s leading teenager at 37th in the world rankings, but this season has suffered seven first-round defeats, including against Caroline Wozniacki at the French Open last week.

The disciplinarian Krajan criticised Robson for lacking maturity and commitment but Maclagan said: “One thing I’ve learned is that what we see from the outside is so often not the case.

“I think I am pretty chilled in some ways, but if practice isn’t of a quality or standards aren’t there, then I’m not so chilled.”

Robson will begin her grass-court campaign at the AEGON Classic in Birmingham next week before heading to Eastbourne and then on to Wimbledon — now the only one of tennis’ four Grand Slams played on grass.

“We’re going to start out for a little period over the grass to see how things go,” Maclagan added.

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