Wimbledon 2014: Virginia Wade queries female choice for Andy Murray
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Your support makes all the difference.Virginia Wade has upset Andy Murray with comments in the past and the 1977 Wimbledon champion probably did nothing to endear herself to the Scot yesterday with her verdict on his latest coaching appointment. Wade said she could not understand Murray’s thinking in recruiting Amélie Mauresmo as his coach.
“I thought they were all fooling around,” Wade said, recalling when she first heard the news. “I think again he’s maybe trying to mess with everybody.”
Wade caused a controversy two years ago when she described Murray as “a drama queen” after his second-round victory over Jarkko Nieminen at the French Open. Murray, who had a back problem and was treated by a trainer three times during the match, said afterwards that Wade had “no idea what I was feeling on the court”.
This time Wade doubted whether Mauresmo was the right person to replace Ivan Lendl as Murray’s coach. “There’s not quite the same intensity about [Murray] as maybe a year ago,” she said. “Having Lendl there really made him think: ‘I’ve got him watching me, so I better be absolutely full tilt all the time’.
“Mauresmo was a great player. She’s a great person. I think she was a little fragile mentally because she had the capabilities of beating everybody. She’s a very nice person, but I can’t work it out at all. You like to try to get behind people’s thinking but I can’t with this one. Unless he just needs somebody there to say ‘well done’, which is possible too. As a player you need somebody to endorse you sometimes and not try to change anything. ”
Maria Sharapova, however, welcomed the appointment: “I think it’s great from Andy’s part,” the 2004 champion said. “She’s a very knowledgeable player and person.”
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