Andy Murray will be under immense pressure at Wimbledon today and going forward, and not only because he became the first Englishman to win Wimbledon in 77 years last time out. He's also hoping to erase the memory of England's flop in the World Cup, losing their first two matches and failing to reach the Round of 16. On top of that, he will be playing to justify his decision to hire a woman, Amelie Mauresmo, as his coach.
His choice of Mauresmo came under fire in some circles; the loudest critic was Latvian player Ernests Gulbis. "I am waiting for a couple of good-looking players to also quit so that I can have a new coach," Gulbis said.
Even Virginia Wade, a British female player herself, had some harsh words about the pairing. "I thought they were all fooling around; I think again he's maybe trying to mess with everybody. She 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. You like to try to get behind people's thinking, but I can't really with this one."
Murray is confident Mauresmo will help keep his game sharp though, and plans on proving it with this huge stage. "I think she was someone who struggled with nerves and conquered them later in her career, which, I think when you start to coach someone, I think you can help more than someone that hasn't had those issues before," Murray said.
"She understands the psychological part of the game maybe more than some because of that."
As for wiping away the stench of the English soccer team's showing in Brazil, Murray said, "Wow." That's a big burden to heap on one man's shoulders, but Murray indicated he's actually grateful for the World Cup to be going on. "It gives me something to do in the evenings," he said. "I don't have to listen to people talking about me playing at Wimbledon."
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