By Caroline Cheese

Full story: Henman sacks coach

Less than 24 hours after Andy Roddick described Brad Gilbert's role in his US Open triumph as "huge", Tim Henman made the decision to sack his coach and go it alone.

Larry Stefanki's departure is hardly surprising.

Rumours of an impending split have been rife since Henman revealed in June that Stefanki would no longer be travelling with him on a full-time basis.

However, the announcement that Henman had no plans to replace him came as much more of a shock and if he has any ambitions of regaining his place in the world's top 20, it is a spectacularly bold decision.

The British number one explained that having worked with Stefanki for two years since his split from David Felgate, he needed to "concentrate on competing and winning matches".

The implication is that Henman feels he has reached the peak of his learning curve.

Now 29, it is fair to assume that his technique is unlikely to undergo any radical changes in the last few years of his career, but a coach's role goes far beyond the nuts and bolts of a player's forehand and backhand.

Gilbert said he "changed nothing" in Roddick's game but advised him on the strategy of winning matches, of "finding a way to win three sets".

Those Henman fans who have watched in agony as their man contrives to engineer a winning position, only to see it slip away, will recognise that he is far from perfect in that area.

From their watching brief in the stands, a coach can quickly identify and eliminate bad habits, which as any player can testify are all too easy to pick up and much harder to shake.

Roddick pays Gilbert tribute

Roddick explains that Gilbert "knows what to say to me and when to say it - he makes things simple for me."

While Henman will continue to be accompanied by fitness coach Johan de Beer, who will no doubt take on a number of day-to-day tasks as well as act as a sounding board, the Briton will no longer have the privilege of the technical knowledge of an experienced tennis coach.

Perhaps Henman took advice from fellow Briton Greg Rusedski, who has travelled without a coach since parting company with Sven Groenveld at the beginning of the year.

Rusedski, though, is yet to demonstrate that it can be a successful ploy after an injury-ridden season which has seen him drop out of the top 100.

And Henman's decision certainly has no precedent among the world's best players.

Eight-times Grand Slam champion Andre Agassi has been on the tour for 17 years but when he and Gilbert decided to part company, the American had no hesitation in recruiting Darren Cahill.

And Cahill's name was the first Agassi mentioned as he accepted the Australian Open trophy in January.

Lleyton Hewitt has dropped from number one to seventh in the world rankings since he split from Jason Stoltenberg and began working with little-known former pro Roger Rasheed.

Sampras' reunion with Annacone was key to his 14th Grand Slam title

Rumour has it that Hewitt's advisors spent the duration of the recent US Open scouting for a more experienced coach to link up with the Australian.

Pete Sampras worked with two coaches before he rehired Paul Annacone, the man who oversaw the American's domination in the late 1990s, and the switch worked to spectacular effect when Sampras won his 14th Grand Slam title at the 2002 US Open.

Of course, Henman's decision is not irreversible but it could be viewed as a clue to his state of mind as he considers a fast-changing sport in which over half of the world's top ten are under 23.