Andy Murray heads for the French Open this week for what might yet be his last Grand Slam – at least for some time – in the company of coach Amelie Mauresmo.
But regardless of what happens after she gives birth later this year, the world No 3 believes their relationship has had a profound effect on him, to the extent he now considers himself a feminist.
“I’m pro everyone being equal, and if that’s being a feminist then you could say so, yes,” said Murray, speaking to Red Bull’s sports magazine. “It really opened my eyes when I started working with Amelie. Inequality is something I started to see and become passionate about. It’s opened my mind.
“I’ve actually become very passionate about getting more women in sport, giving women more opportunities. When I was younger, I wasn’t thinking about stuff like that. But now I’ve seen it with my own eyes, it’s quite amazing how few female coaches there are across any sport.”
Murray travels to Roland Garros as a genuine contender for the title after his recent form, and he believes a lot of that is down to his work with Mauresmo, who he hired last June.
He is still taken aback by the reaction he gets about the appointment, saying: “I knew it would be a big story at the beginning. But I thought it would die down quicker than it has. Before I started working with Amelie, I was losing – I started last year much worse than I finished it, so I was very surprised at the amount of criticism she received for each loss I had.
“I know a lot of the players were surprised, because I hear what goes on in the locker room. It was an eye-opening experience. Some comments did make it into the press before it was officially announced, that some people thought it was a joke I was playing along with. To me, it’s amazing to hear that. I couldn’t believe the negativity towards her. That has never happened with any other coach I’ve worked with before.”
While one cannot gainsay what he may have heard in the privacy of the locker room, it is difficult to find examples of public criticism of Mauresmo’s coaching in the media from journalists or current or former players. Adverse comments from Australian player Marinko Matosevic last year were the exception rather than the rule. What is clear is that coaching in an individual sport is a personal thing, and Murray has found the softly spoken Mauresmo’s emollient courtside manner an excellent fit.
“I’m not sure why, but ever since I was young, I’ve found it easier to talk about how I’m feeling with the women closest to me – my mum, my wife,” he said. “It was much easier for me to open up to Amelie when I wasn’t feeling confident.
“When you get five or six men sitting at a table in a competitive environment, it’s not pleasant. I’ve found it difficult to open up sometimes as you feel judged or that it’s seen as a sign of weakness.
“Sometimes, when we’re competing and working out, trying to be macho, it can get a bit testosterone fuelled. I’ve ended up having big arguments. I don’t feel like I’m competing with Amelie.”
Murray set a trend that others followed when he hired the untouchy-feely Ivan Lendl, and he feels the Mauresmo appointment may come to be looked upon similarly.
It should be said that, as with male coaches, not all high-profile female hirings have ended well.
In the women’s game Lindsay Davenport has made a promising start with American starlet Madison Keys, but Martina Navratilova’s recent arrangement with Agnieszka Radwanska was a short-lived flop while Martina Hingis’s coaching of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in 2013 was not a success, either.
Murray’s mother Judy, Britain’s Fed Cup captain, is also a keen advocate of more women coaches.
Meanwhile, Murray feels he has already proved a point with Mauresmo. “I feel like a lot of people thought it was destined to fail at the end of last year when I lost to Roger (his heavy defeat by Federer at the O2 Arena).
“Everyone was saying, ‘Oh Amelie’s confused him, he doesn’t know what he’s doing’.
“Two months later, I was a completely different player. I’ve shown it can work.” – Daily Mail