Last December, when Andy Murray was named the BBC’s Sports Personality of 2013, his outfitters ran a campaign that said:, “Not bad for a man with no personality”.
It was a jab aimed at critics of his dour exterior. Murray has the reputation of being a sourpuss but, when it comes to coaches, he is clearly a trendsetter.
The Scot was the first of the men’s top stars to appoint a former great, Ivan Lendl, as a coach, and the likes of Novak Djokovic (Boris Becker), Roger Federer (Stefan Edberg) and Kei Nishikori (Michael Chang) have followed his lead.
Now he has Amelie Mauresmo, the 2006 All England champion, to guide him through the grass-court season, which includes a defence of his Wimbledon title.
Mauresmo, a former world No 1, has worked with an ATP professional before: Frenchman Michael Llodra, through the 2010 grass-court season. She was Marion Bartoli’s coach when she won Wimbledon last year and has worked with Victoria Azarenka.
Mauresmo has the credentials, but how many of the world’s top men’s tennis players would consider appointing a woman as their coach? There is still chauvinism in the sport, and Murray could get a few sniggering glances from his peers.
“For me, it didn’t feel like a strange thing to do just because I grew up with a female coach,” said Murray, who was coached by mother Judy through his teenage years. “I don’t really care whether some of the other male players like it or not.”
arizvi@thenational.ae
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