Australian Open

Murray and Mauresmo united in the quest for perfection

Simon Cambers

January 19, 2015

Andy Murray says he will keep improving

When Andy Murray appeared to aim some of his almost-trademark invective at Amelie Mauresmo and his player's box during his opening Australian Open win on Monday, observers could have been forgiven for interpreting it as disquiet in the camp.

But according to those who know the British No.1's coach and her approach well, the frustrations that come from the quest for perfection would have been instantly understood.

"She is a mega perfectionist," says Vincent Cognet, a highly respected journalist with daily French sports newspaper L'Equipe. "She's always trying to go to the top of the top; she's not interested in being No.5, No.10.

Mauresmo's willing to learn and asks a lot of questions. That's a very good trait to have
Andy Murray

"It's the same in any kind of situation. For instance she is crazy about wine and she only opens a bottle of great wine. Not a very good one. It has to be a fabulous one."

The job description when Murray was looking to replace Ivan Lendl as his new coach last summer was for someone with the same dedication, ambition and work ethic as himself.

Eyebrows were raised when he announced in June that former women's world No.1 Mauresmo was the right person for the role.

Yet, seven months into their partnership, they appear to be on the right track, regardless of any on-court antics. "All the propaganda about a lady coach, that's over," legendary coach Nick Bollettieri tells ESPN at the Australian Open. "And I'm glad it's over because she's damned good."

Murray may have had the odd moment of frustration on Monday but he began his title bid with a confident 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 win over India's Yuki Bhambri on a sunny but relatively cool Melbourne day.

Amelie Mauresmo and Andy Murray are learning from each other © AP

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Progress is being made, but the sixth seed says he and his coach are still learning from each other. "She doesn't act like she knows everything," he says in his column in Melbourne newspaper The Age on Monday.

"For someone who was so successful as a player herself - she was the best in the world at what she did - she's willing to learn and asks a lot of questions. That's a very good trait to have."

Having experienced plenty of doubts in her career before going on to win two grand slam titles and reach the No.1 spot, Mauresmo and Murray - who plays Australia's Marinko Matosevic in round two - shared some obvious common ground.

Cognet describes Mauresmo as "a very clever person, she can be almost brilliant". "Her mind is very structured. She has a sense of humour. She's making jokes all the time but in a clever way, not in a dirty way. I'm quite sure that they are very close, personally, especially because of that.

"Maybe day after day, she finds her position in the team and I feel that the personal relationship with Andy is good. When they get off the court and they start joking, they are totally on the same wavelength."

If Mauresmo was the target of Murray's on-court monologue on Monday, she would not have been the first of his coaches to feel the force of his frustration when things have not gone as he would have liked.

But he dismisses the importance of his behaviour against Bhambri. "In some sense when you're playing you tend to say things that you don't really mean," he says. "That's just how the brain works. I've learned a lot about that over the last couple years. That's just a normal thing to say."

Amelie deeply believes that to be on the top needs dedication, 24 hours a day, every day, every week, every month, every year
Journalist Vincent Cognet

Regardless, any reaction from Mauresmo would likely have been measured anyway. Frenchman Michael Llodra, who hired her as a coach for the grass-court season in 2010, says the former world No 1 "always takes her time and thinks before she speaks", something Bollettieri believes is important for any coach.

"That's her forte," he says. "And that's a very good trait. She will probably tell him just one or two things, maybe to be a little more offensive.

"Amelie was a focused player. I believe Andy has to be realistic, put the facts down on the table, this is what I [need to] do, this is what it takes to win."

Renowned as one of the hardest-working players off the court, Murray will also be enjoying the focus Mauresmo shows to her sport, Cognet says.

"Amelie deeply believes that to be on the top needs dedication, 24 hours a day, every day, every week, every month, every year and over years and years," he says.

"She deeply believes that it takes time to build something. It took her seven years between the final here [in 1999] and reaching No.1. You cannot build something in two months."

In the off-season, Murray made a further commitment to Mauresmo when he ditched his long-time friend and assistant coach, Dani Vallverdu and his conditioning coach Jez Green, reportedly because they disagreed with the direction in which things were moving.

Murray is on good terms with all of his former coaches, which is probably just as well as Cognet says Mauresmo is not one to be crossed.

"She holds a grudge," he says. "She never forgives. Never ever. Don't try to knife her in the back because she will never forgive you."