Gilbert misses out on seeing a British 'no-hoper' win by leaving early

The American decided to leave the All England Club after Andy Murray’s victory
over Fabrice Santoro despite the fact that Surrey’s Eaton was still an hour away from
completing his sensational straight-sets win over Boris Pashanski.

See no evil: Brad Gilbert missed Eaton's victory

The Lawn Tennis Association announced yesterday that Gilbert will be leaving his part-time role at the end of his contract - which has netted him a total of £1.4m over two years - but would continue to work for the next three months despite being unhappy working with too many British 'no-hopers'.

But Murray’s former coach showed a distinct lack of commitment to the cause by not only missing world No661 Eaton in action but also fellow Brit Jamie Baker - who lost to Italy’s Stefano Galvani.

Gilbert insisted that the LTA’s claim that he was quitting because British players were not good enough was ‘rubbish’ and he was also ‘hopeful’ that he would keep working in this country.

But chief executive Roger Draper, who made the announcement that Gilbert was quitting, will be less than impressed by the American’s early exit.

Eaton achieved his victory having come through six rounds of qualifying, and later paid tribute to Murray as his inspiration. He said: 'You can always feel the lift from what Andy’s doing. When he does well it really lifts the other British players.'