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Andy Murray defends 'extremely strong' Mauresmo

Andy Murray has praised coach Amelie Mauresmo for her calming influence © Getty Images

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Andy Murray has opened up as to why he chose the "extremely strong" Amelie Mauresmo as his next coach, and says the former world No.1 has had a "calming" influence over him.

Murray said there has been a failure to recognise Mauresmo's influence over the changes in his mentality and his approach to games since they started working together in June.

"Some people will never be satisfied unless I win a grand slam with Amelie," he told The Sunday Times. "People will say she is not a good coach, but I know the reality. She is a good coach."

Murray's decision to work with Mauresmo was heavily criticised after he capitulated against Roger Federer in the ATP finals in November, but he says the reaction was unjustified.

"I didn't get it," he said. "I didn't see why everyone was blaming her. I hadn't seen that with any of the other coaches or ex-players where people have gone, 'Michael Chang is rubbish' or 'Ivan Lendl is rubbish' or Edberg or Becker."

Murray joined forces with Mauresmo after ending his hugely successful pairing with Lendl, which included winning the US Open before lifting the Wimbledon trophy in 2013.

"I had great success with Ivan Lendl," Murray said. "Was he a perfect coach? No. Was he a very good coach? Yeah. He had some very strong qualities and some things that weren't so good."

After gaining a reputation as a player prone to letting the bigger occasions get the best of him, Murray praised Mauresmo's mental strength and the constructive nature of their relationship.

"She [Mauresmo] went through a lot as a person and she handled a lot of the issues that she had during her career very well. She was seen as being a choker when she played.

"People would call her that even though she was the best in the world. No.1 in the world, she was still a choker. She then, at the end of her career, managed to get through that and ended up winning a couple of majors. So mentally I think she is extremely strong.

"The reason why I started working with her was that when I sat down and spoke with her, I found her very calming. She listened to everything I said. It wasn't like I started talking and then she immediately just started talking over me. Everything she said about my game from what she had watched, I agreed with."

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