Murray to keep Mauresmo but Vallverdu and Green out

Title is fairly self descriptive. Mauresmo stays on as head coach but his fitness trainer and hitting partner are to leave.  I'm not sure about his choice but what do you all think?

I'm not sure who his fitness trainer and hitting partner are but Murray has a huge team. I once sat opposite them at Wimbledon and found myself watching them rather than the tennis (which was a little dull). His whole team looked on edge and extremely stressed every time he lost a point and this wasn't helped by the way Murray vented his frustration by yelling at them. It was an early round match and despite all the tension in the team it was a fairly routine win for Murray. I ended up feeling relieved for his team when he won as I imagined they would have been for the chop if he lost. Although I did feel a little mean when someone pointed out that his opponents box was completely empty.

It's like he wants to keep on getting worse.

Hoo-boy. I hope he knows what he's doing.

Well, this is interesting.

His hitting partner was allegedly annoyed he wasn't consulted about Mauresmo's appointment. And while this year Murray has been outlasted in a number of matches, in seasons past his conditioning has been up there with Rafa and Novak.

I was hoping he'd get rid of Mauresmo as a number of aspects of his game have gone backwards under her. Frankly, I think this is a bad decision. A seriously bad decision.

I hope I'm wrong, but I will now pretty confidently say he will win no more slams.

Obviously he feels wholesale change is needed but it's a crazy decision when all fingers point to Mauresmo as the problem. Technically and tactically his game is going backwards...that has nothing to do with a hitting partner or fitness trainer who was instrumental in turning Murray into the athlete he became. It's also a ruthless decision given these guys have stuck with him through thick and thin. Hints at the panic going on in Murray' head...panic leads to impulsive, ill-thought through and knee jerk decision making. He will come to regret this.

http://news.sky.com/story/1381058/andy-murray-engaged-to-girlfriend-kim-sears


Well he has someone to help mop up the tears if all else fails

Just don't understand why he has pretty much decimated a winning team behind him.

I just don't get it.

I am hoping he will prove us all wrong and that this is a winning master plan, though it's not looking like that at the moment.

I think Green was working with someone else this year too, possibly Dimitrov?  It's no surprise that he'd want to jump ship from the man with questions about his future to a man who's going to win titles in a few years time.  I wonder if this is Murray's last throw of the dice.  If it comes off, great.  If not, retirement beckons.

But at least HMM will be happy with this news

The Special Juan wrote:But at least HMM will be happy with this news

Ha! Now he's gone, I think I'm going to miss the sight of old Jezza giving himself a hernia with his high velocity fist pumps.

Seriously though, this is a huge surprise.

I remember when Lendl was coaching Andy, he (Lendl) said that Vallverdu made a huge contribution. I'm amazed he's been moved on.

The more I think about it, the more I suspect that things may have been tense in Andy's team since Mauresmo's appointment. As Danny says, Andy didn't consult his team about the appointment and it's easy to understand that this might upset people who have been with Andy for years.

It might also explain the cryptic outbursts Andy has been making to his box during matches. He might be frustrated with conflict in the team that is affecting his preparation.

Looks like it will be another interesting year for the Andy fans on here!

I've always said that Andy has / had the tools to win many more big titles than he has. But mentally he is simply not as good as the three players that have achieved more than him. They have made great decisions about their games and their approches and backroom appointments.

By contrast, Andy's decisions - mentally or otherwise - have not been great at all. For years the whole was less than the sum of the parts... until Lendl. That was the exception. If he'd never appointed Lendl he probably wouldn't have won a slam. What we saw before Lendl and since Lendl says it all.

It's very frustrating as a fan.

I want Lendl back. If Lendl was willing to work with Murray, and is now willing to work with Berdych, his availability is there, but Murray should have cojones to stay with a winning combination.

Of the entire team, I am disappointed that Vallverdu is no longer there. He has been the rock of the coaching staff.

I thought Lendl stopped working with Murray since he wanted to cut down on his travel and spend more time with his daughter?

Murray keeping his gf too, got engaged.

Yipeeeee congrats, maybe he will man up and be a strong hubby

According to the latest reports that I have seen Lendl is 'too busy' to work with Berdych. That is similar to why he split with Murray as Murray wanted more time from Lendl who couldn't commit to it.

Great PR by the Murray team. Sack his team on the same day he announces his engagement

Must of been either me or them, since the either me or Mauresmo, did not seem to work

I think it's harsh to criticise Mauresmo. He was much better in the second half of the year after she came onboard. We will be better placed to see if it's working early in the new season.

Not too concerned by this news. I'm sure he has a plan for fitness. Dani is more of a loss but if Mauresmo is travelling full-time he has become slightly redundant.

The main issue is ensuring the back is ok and getting him playing the aggressive style which he claimed was why he got Mauresmo on the team. If he does that, 2015 should be a good year.

Danny_1982 wrote: For years the whole was less than the sum of the parts... until Lendl. That was the exception. If he'd never appointed Lendl he probably wouldn't have won a slam. What we saw before Lendl and since Lendl says it all.  

I'm willing to reserve judgement because it is still early days but I'm surprised that Andy went for someone so different to Lendl.

Lendl is a distinctive character and has rare experience, so finding a direct replacement would be near impossible. But what be brought was authority and that authority led to good discipline.

Mauresemo seems a different character entirely. It must be tough for her to assert authority, not just because her temperament is different to Lendl, but because her achievements in the game are also less. I would already rate Andy as a better player than Mauresmo was. That was not the case with Lendl.

I don't think a coach has to be a better player than the student - see Toni Nadal, Marian Vajda, Severin Luthi, even Edberg and Becker - but I think in Andy's case it helps. He seems to benefit from an authority figure.

Andy is keen to make this work and that is the main thing. He is willing to work with Mauresmo. I mean thank the lord he is not doing it the Robson way and going through 7 coaches in 3 years!

The proof is in the pudding as they say. I we will get a better picture post Miami.

He is gone to this Asia thing, right?

Is that a proper fighting tennis, or some sort of exhibition warm-up not hit the ball too strong?

No doubting it is a surprise decision but who knows the reasoning behind it. Perhaps Jez Green and Danni Valverdu just could not hack working under a woman so to speak and friction was there. Perhaps that goes to explain the disjointed season Andy had? Maybe infighting was so unsettling amongst his team. We shall see. I am sure he knows enough about fitness regimes to not let that slip. I will wait and see before condemning this as a bad move.

Congratulations on the engagement Andy. .

Looks like Murray got to the end of the season and had a review of the where he was both professionally and personally. Then he made decisions of what he wanted for the future. From the tennis point of view only time will tell if the decisions will be correct. I'm not going to speculate on why Jez and Danni have gone. However Mauresmo remains and my worry is that up until now I haven't seen any positive change that has come from this coaching relationship. That is not blaming Mauresmo I'm sure she is doing her best. However Murray's service game is still poor, he still frequently seems to go through periods of matches where his focus is lacking, and allows opponents to dominate rallies too often. These are areas things where a consistent improvement would be expected.

As has been pointed out though he has been yelling cryptic messages at his box about his serve being ruined - now we can assume those were directed at Valverdu or else why bin him? Perhaps Danni tried moving in to much on Mauresmo's space and fiddling with service action etc? As this decision has come out of the blue and surprises many I reckon there has been much going on behind the scenes that we don't know about and not all good about Green and Valverdu as they were his bosom buddies so they must have done something big to so cheese him off don't you think?

Valverdu is a hitting partner though. I can't see Andy blaming him for his $hite serve! He binned the one man who brought his serve on leaps and bounds and that was Gilbert. If the issue is physical with the serve and that it requires some kind of re-modification, then that requires a more specialised type of coaching.

To me I think it's clear that Danni and Jez weren't too impressed with the decision Andy made regarding Mauresmo. In fairness though were they that bothered when Andy appointed Lendl? If that is the reason then I am pretty pi$$ed off that they felt that they had a degree of influence in who coaches Andy. End of the day it's Andy out on court, not them. They are not the ones winning matches so they should not have any influence in that decision.

Is he merely seeking to downsize his team?

CaledonianCraig wrote:As has been pointed out though he has been yelling cryptic messages at his box about his serve being ruined - now we can assume those were directed at Valverdu or else why bin him? Perhaps Danni tried moving in to much on Mauresmo's space and fiddling with service action etc? As this decision has come out of the blue and surprises many I reckon there has been much going on behind the scenes that we don't know about and not all good about Green and Valverdu as they were his bosom buddies so they must have done something big to so cheese him off don't you think?

Could be as simple as Murray saying that he is sticking with Mauresmo for 2015 Valverdu and Green being a bit reticent about this and Murray saying like it or lump it. Jez has been on Andy's team for around 7 years and Danni 5. With all the travelling they do things can become a bit stale so maybe it was just time for a change and the issues around Mauresmo were the catalyst. As I said though that's all just speculation.

Calder106 wrote:

CaledonianCraig wrote:As has been pointed out though he has been yelling cryptic messages at his box about his serve being ruined - now we can assume those were directed at Valverdu or else why bin him? Perhaps Danni tried moving in to much on Mauresmo's space and fiddling with service action etc? As this decision has come out of the blue and surprises many I reckon there has been much going on behind the scenes that we don't know about and not all good about Green and Valverdu as they were his bosom buddies so they must have done something big to so cheese him off don't you think?

Could be as simple as Murray saying that he is sticking with Mauresmo for 2015 Valverdu and Green being a bit reticent about this and Murray saying like it or lump it. Jez has been on Andy's team for around 7 years and Danni 5. With all the travelling they do things can become a bit stale so maybe it was just time for a change and the issues around Mauresmo were the catalyst. As I said though that's all just speculation.

Yes it could be but I think there are darker reasons behind this as both of these have been with him for so long and in the past and in the BBC documentary they done on Andy Murray he was fullsome in his praise of them both. Now the only thing to change since that documentary was probably filmed is the arrival of Mauresmo as his coach. Would it be too speculative to say Green and Valverdu perhaps were a bit too vocal and in his ear against the decision? Something has soured their rock-solid relationship and cannot think what else it would be.

HM Murdoch wrote:He seems to benefit from an authority figure.

His demeanor on court was significantly different under Lendl, and positive, than it has been before Lendl, or after him.

Calder106 wrote:According to the latest reports that I have seen Lendl is 'too busy' to work with Berdych. That is similar to why he split with Murray as Murray wanted more time from Lendl who couldn't commit to it.

Travel and time wise, Lendl and Mauresmo may be able to split duties, but such an arrangement may have ego issues and mixed messages.

Several examples - Federer (Edberg and Luthi), Djokovic (Becker and Vajda) and Wawrinka (Norman and Luthi) could be useful, and seem to work well.

In Berdych's case Krupa and Lendl together can also work.

CC. That's probably close to what has taken place. Saw this article in the Daily Mail today. Don't know how accurate it is (I know what people think of the Mail on here) as I haven't seen it elsewhere.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-2850618/Andy-Murray-splits-assistant-coach-Dani-Vallverdu-physical-trainer-Jez-Green.html

"Murray and Green are said to have disagreed about training. Green wanted to stick with the uncompromising routines of old that turned Murray into a super-athlete, while the player is said to favour a more nuanced approach as he heads into his late twenties."

Thanks for the link Calder.


When I said Dimitrov above, turns out it was Zverev Murray's not a "young" man in tennis terms any more and with his back problems I don't think there's any chance he can continue to do the massive physical work done when Lendl came onboard. For all I know, it was that work which contributed towards the bad back.

If that is true, the question is how he maintains the fitness needed to compete in slams without doing that work. The fact is he was a spent force after two sets versus Djokovic in the US Open so if his aim is to win slams then he has to have some plan in place of how to improve his fitness.

Have to say, it strikes me as highly unlikely a physical trainer would be as inflexible as suggested. If there is some basis behind the story, does it suggest it may be more Andy being unwilling to push himself by doing the hard work required?

That report does say he has taken on another fitness coach so I don't really think that is a worry. Besides some here have long thought he has gone overkill on the fitness side of things so they should be pleased. I say give it time before proclaiming this as a bad move.

Born Slippy wrote:If that is true, the question is how he maintains the fitness needed to compete in slams without doing that work. The fact is he was a spent force after two sets versus Djokovic in the US Open so if his aim is to win slams then he has to have some plan in place of how to improve his fitness.

Have to say, it strikes me as highly unlikely a physical trainer would be as inflexible as suggested. If there is some basis behind the story, does it suggest it may be more Andy being unwilling to push himself by doing the hard work required?

No. Murray has never been afraid of hard work. To his credit he probably works as hard as anyone out there. I'm sure he knows that he needs to be in top condition to compete. That's just a given. No way would he sacrifice that. Changing fitness trainer does not equal not doing the work. He'll get someone else to do the work with. Same goals different approach, that' all.

I totally agree emancipator. 

Quite surprised you're so positive about this one Craig, I thought you'd be up in arms given your complaints over Andy's direction (via Mauresmo) in your epitaph thread?

But, I'm glad you are positive about it here's hoping the decision pays off! I want to see Mr. Murray firing at the top table once more.

It sounds to me like his back's been slightly damaged beyond repair and he cant to physical anymore. Looks like this might be a choice to go heavy aggression over stamina to save it.

Silver wrote:Quite surprised you're so positive about this one Craig, I thought you'd be up in arms given your complaints over Andy's direction (via Mauresmo) in your epitaph thread?

But, I'm glad you are positive about it here's hoping the decision pays off! I want to see Mr. Murray firing at the top table once more.

Well a change was needed and I am not really being so positive but more of saying let's wait and see. Remember the biggest influence on his career so far has been Lendl. Green and Vallverdu were with Murray when he was coming up short in slams remember - it was the coach that took him that final step. Besides like I have said before it seems clear that they have been perhaps put out by Mauresmo's arrival which is wrong as she is his chosen coach whilst they are merely part of his support team.

Interesting post, thank you.

I'm a bit surprised by the negativity. It could be simply that Mauresmo wants to be more bold in the changes and the others don't and worse possibly carp on that he should carry on doing things the 'old' ways

I actually think it's very bold and shows that he's ambitious for more success. The easiest thing to do would have been to stick with the old team and sack his coach

I also don't see this "a number of aspects of his game have gone backwards under her" or "all fingers point to Mauresmo as the problem"

Really? It's only since he's started playing under her tutelage, that he's started beating Top 10 players and actually winning events

I think we conveniently forget that it took a long time to give up some pretty serious surgery, and to give some relativity, I'd argue his comeback has been far better than the first Del Potro one.

I'm glad he's done something which cuts the ties with the old ways - no way was he going to win a slam with his old team doing the same thing that never worked before Lendl took over

More optimistic about 2015, now

Saw this article today :
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/andymurray/11296616/Andy-Murrays-hitting-partner-Dani-Vallverdu-walked-out-on-the-Scot-not-the-other-way-around.html

Dani Vallverdu has been named as coach for Berdych next year which seems to be fact. It also claims that he and Jez Green left Murray rather than Murray giving them the push as was reported previously.

Yes, Vallverdu - having split from Murray - has now been hired by Berdych.

But Berdych's first choice was, it seems, Ivan Lendl.

"Sorry....I'm too busy" said Lendl  

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/30502234

Valverdu walked out on team Murray? Wow, there must have bee some serious behind the scenes issues that I suspect we'll never fully know.

Be very interesting to see how Murray starts the year.

Danny_1982 wrote:Valverdu walked out on team Murray? Wow, there must have bee some serious behind the scenes issues that I suspect we'll never fully know.

Be very interesting to see how Murray starts the year.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't get the excitement / controversy, call it what you will

Does it matter who actually made the decision? The only obvious fact, is that Andy wouldn't give them the re-assurances they wanted, i.e. 'like it or lump it' is just the same as 'your time is up'

In essence, Andy decided he needed a radical change and Mauresmo would be the No.1 coach

Frankly, I'd have been more concerned if he'd rested on his laurels in the false security of having had a decent end to the season

Instead he's decided to change things / make it more clearer who the boss is / disturb the comfortable team of several year and hence deserves plaudits for at least showing he want to win slams - even if it's a spectacular failure

This revelation from Valverdu falls in with my assumption when the news broke. Danny and Jez's noses were put out of joint by Mauresmo's appointment - who knows perhaps they couldn't hack taking orders from women? Sorry guys but grow a pair and accept the boss's decision or take your services elsewhere - and the latter has happened.

i think there's a sizeable difference. Getting rid of Dani and Green would be one thing, but Dani walking out on the team is another.

The way I read it, he must be really unhappy to move away from his close friend. That could just be the Mauresmo appointment and how it was done, or it could be that he's so unhappy with the direction Andy is going that he doesn't want to be part of it.

Pretty big statement if that's the case. I'm as big a Murray fan as anyone, but I have to recognise that someone going "I've had enough of this" is not a ringing endorsement of the team as it is.

Frankly, it just adds to my concerns about where Andy is going. Time will tell if I'm looking too much into it. If Murray is back to his best next year I'll be delighted to say I was wrong to question what is happening now.

Danny_1982 wrote:i think there's a sizeable difference. Getting rid of Dani and Green would be one thing, but Dani walking out on the team is another.

The way I read it, he must be really unhappy to move away from his close friend. That could just be the Mauresmo appointment and how it was done, or it could be that he's so unhappy with the direction Andy is going that he doesn't want to be part of it.

Pretty big statement if that's the case. I'm as big a Murray fan as anyone, but I have to recognise that someone going "I've had enough of this" is not a ringing endorsement of the team as it is.

Frankly, it just adds to my concerns about where Andy is going. Time will tell if I'm looking too much into it. If Murray is back to his best next year I'll be delighted to say I was wrong to question what is happening now.

There are plenty of ways you could look at it though. Obviously, there has been unrest and that has clearly affected Andy as he has clearly been seen yelling at his box about what (somebody) has done to his serve. Now that isn't good and clearly playing with Andy's mind and as we all know Andy gets mentally side-tracked enough without more being added by his team to do that. Danny walking out, it appears clear, is because he cannot or will not work with Mauresmo. Now since Andy makes the coaching decisions then Danny is not really in a position to complain is he? I can only presume his nose has been put out of joint by Mauresmo's arrival, who knows perhaps he was expecting the coaching role himself and this has gnawed away at him until he quit. Either way I'd say it is for the best he has gone if it brings a semblance of calm to Andy's off-court preparations without background tensions to stress him out and tense him up.

Looks like I was spot on in this assumption as Murray says there was unrest in the camp through last year.

That's one way to look at it Craig. Another way is that Mauresmo's coaching is taking Andy backwards and Dani can see this and that's why he has left.

I hope you are right. You seem a lot less concerned than I do. I hope that's because you genuinely think he's on the right track, rather than just defending your player.

My glass is usually half full too. But I can't help but think his choices are holding him back, and stopping him getting back to his level.

banbrotam wrote:

Danny_1982 wrote:Valverdu walked out on team Murray? Wow, there must have bee some serious behind the scenes issues that I suspect we'll never fully know.

Be very interesting to see how Murray starts the year.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't get the excitement / controversy, call it what you will

Does it matter who actually made the decision? The only obvious fact, is that Andy wouldn't give them the re-assurances they wanted, i.e. 'like it or lump it' is just the same as 'your time is up'

In essence, Andy decided he needed a radical change and Mauresmo would be the No.1 coach

Frankly, I'd have been more concerned if he'd rested on his laurels in the false security of having had a decent end to the season

Instead he's decided to change things / make it more clearer who the boss is / disturb the comfortable team of several year and hence deserves plaudits for at least showing he want to win slams - even if it's a spectacular failure

Don't think there is a lot of excitement/controversy. I just found it interesting that after reading headlines in November saying that Murray had sacked Vallverdu and Green an article is now stating the opposite. Like others I tend to think it was more a mutual parting. Andy decided to stick with Mauresmo meaning that Dani and Jez had to either like it or lump it. They chose to lump it. Will be interesting to see how all of them get on over the coming months.

Danny_1982 wrote:That's one way to look at it Craig. Another way is that Mauresmo's coaching is taking Andy backwards and Dani can see this and that's why he has left.

I hope you are right. You seem a lot less concerned than I do. I hope that's because you genuinely think he's on the right track, rather than just defending your player.

My glass is usually half full too. But I can't help but think his choices are holding him back, and stopping him getting back to his level.

I don't think Mauresmo can be judged just yet if, as I have already said, there was behind the scenes unrest in the Murray camp this year. Also, when Andy directed rants at his box that (somebody) has ruined his serve and now that he has kept Mauresmo on then perhaps it was Danny that did that and that was the beginning of the end for Valverrdu?

This isn't me just defending my player but being honest in saying it is Andy's choice who he wishes to be his coach and if Danny and Jez couldn't accept that then it is right they are no longer part of the team as it is Andy's career and decision that counts. Whether Mauresmo and Murray ends up being a slam-winning partnership I doubt it for the reasons I earlier stated on my Epitaph for Andy thread. What has to be remembered though is Murray (pre-Lendl era) had Danny and Jez in his camp and he was slamless so even if that is the case with Mauresmo then it is no worse than that earlier part of his career.

Well it looks like my opinion was close to the truth on the split in Murray's team. Andy admits there was unrest in his team for most of last year and some couldn't accept the direction Mauresmo and Andy wanted to take with his game.