• Australian Open

Murray says it's advantage Berdych after coach transfer

Dani Vallverdu has denied there was a rift between him and Amelie Mauresmo last season © Getty Images

Enlarge

"Andy and I have been friends for nearly 15 years," Dani Vallverdu, Andy Murray's former assistant coach, had said last week. "Our personal relationship is still good, I consider him one of my best friends and I'll always be in his corner, except for when I am coaching against him."

Indeed, when Murray steps out on court on Thursday looking to book his place in a fourth Australian Open final, he has admitted that the man standing on the opposite side of the net will have a pretty useful ace up his sleeve.

For Tomas Berdych is coached by Vallverdu, who - along with fitness trainer Jez Green - only left the Murray camp in November.

Vallverdu was part of the coaching team under Ivan Lendl that helped Andy Murray win Wimbledon © Getty Images

Enlarge

Related Links

• News: Sharapova looks to end Serena hoodoo in Melbourne final
  
• News: Djokovic looking to exact revenge on Wawrinka
  
• Features: Seven reasons for Murray to fear Berdych in Melbourne
  

"Dani knows my game inside out. I'd expect he would come up with a great game plan," Murray told BBC Sport.

"It should be perfect with how much time I've spent with Dani. He knows my game probably better than anyone."

Vallverdu was an integral part of Murray's London Olympics, 2012 US Open and 2013 Wimbledon triumphs, but the Scot cited the need for change ahead of his off-season training schedule, following a lacklustre campaign that fizzled out with a 6-0 6-1 humiliation against Roger Federer at the World Tour Finals.

They have been close friends since meeting as teenagers at the Sanchez-Casal Academy in Barcelona more than a decade ago and Vallverdu travelled with the Briton for up to 42 weeks a year as his assistant coach after they linked up in 2010.

Ivan Lendl said he relied heavily on the Venezuelan and Murray that Vallverdu was effectively his senior coach at many tournaments.

The chemistry between the Scot and his assistant coach derived from their friendship, how comfortable they were talking things over. Murray liked the fact that Vallverdu knew him, his likes and dislikes well - and that their relationship was more informal than the traditional coach-player model.

Signs of disquiet in the Murray camp surfaced at Wimbledon last summer, however, after Murray's title defence ended in a limp quarter-final exit. The appointment of head coach Amelie Mauresmo created waves externally; within the camp Vallverdu and Green were apparently unhappy at not being fully informed of the news beforehand.

Vallverdu has denied a rift and described the decision to split with Murray at the Scot's house in Surrey as a "calm conversation" with "no hard feelings", claiming their professional relationship had simply become stale.

Murray's take was slightly different, hinting that his vision with Mauresmo was not shared by the rest of the team, and that the results they were getting together were not good enough as a result.

He pointedly said his refreshed team could now "move forward together" and his partnership with Mauresmo finally looks like it is clicking in Melbourne.

Murray was certainly reluctant to discuss Vallverdu in his press conference after beating Nick Kyrgios in straight sets to reach the semi-finals.

"I don't know, maybe I'll find it weird on the day," said Murray. "But, yeah, it's just something that you deal with as a player. My goal isn't to beat Dani; my goal is to beat Berdych. So I don't think about that in the next days."

He added: "To be honest, I don't really want to talk about what Dani's strengths and weaknesses are. I'm happy to talk about Berdych and what his strengths and weaknesses are, but I don't want to discuss what Dani does well and doesn't do well, because I'm not playing against him."

Is Murray worried that Berdych - who has been quick to praise the work of Vallverdu and the training changes he has made - will know all of his secrets?

Vallverdu, right, helped mastermind Tomas Berdych's quarter-final win over Rafael Nadal © Getty Images

Enlarge

"I've always said to people that watching is one thing and seeing someone's game, but when you actually get on the court with them things are actually a lot different," Murray added.

"It seems like you might be able to attack certain areas of someone's game or something that they do might look really good, but what matters is when you're on the court can you exploit those things, that weakness. That weakness, is it as weak as you think?

"It's completely different when you're out there on the court, in my opinion. We'll see how the match plays out and what the tactics are and stuff."

But Murray then quipped: "I also know what Dani thinks of Berdych's game because he's told me, so it works both ways."

Former world No.4 and British No.1 Greg Rusedski feels Vallverdu's presence on Berdych's team will be a huge factor in Thursday morning's match-up, however.

"It will be one of the most important things because Murray plays on patterns," Rusedski told Eurosport.

"On his forehand in his forehand corner he goes cross court almost all the time, in his backhand corner with his forehand it's always inside out. His second serves are predominantly on the backhand side and the serve is short.

"So for all of those little key areas, Dani will tell Berdych: 'Be prepared for this at this stage, this is what's going to happen here'. When you've been a friend of Andy and coached him for so long, you're going to know those sorts of areas."

Murray and Vallverdu's split was amicable, according to the Venezuelan © PA Photos

Enlarge

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd