Murray giving nothing away, on or off court
PARIS (Reuters) - Andy Murray's post-match press conference at the French Open on Thursday turned into a who's who of tennis greats as he was again quizzed about who will be his next coach in the wake of his split with Ivan Lendl. The Wimbledon champion looked at ease on court as he disposed of Australia's Marinko Matosevic 6-3 6-1 6-3 to reach the third round with some dazzling tennis. Having fended off the best that the entertaining Matosevic could launch his way, Murray proved equally nimble when asked whether he was close to deciding on a new coach. Former Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo is the latest name to be linked to the job, but the 27-year-old Scot would not be drawn. "To be honest, ever since I stopped working with Ivan, there has been a lot of different names that people mentioned," Murray said. "Obviously Amelie this week. There was (Mats) Wilander. There has been (Jonas) Bjorkman, John McEnroe, (Martina)Navratilova, Leon Smith, who is the (British) Davis Cup captain, Bob Brett. "There have been a lot of people that people have talked about. I just kind of put up with it. When the time is right I will make an announcement. But nothing to say just yet. "Right now in the middle of a tournament is not really the time when I'm sitting down and speaking to people and making phone calls. That doesn't happen in the middle of a grand slam." He quite liked the sound of some of them, though. "It's not like any of them have been bad names," he said. "I like all of the people that have been mentioned. "I have a good relationship with most of them. Some of them I don't even know. So, yeah, no bad names there." CLASS APART There will be no shortage of former players eager to work with Murray, who showed on Thursday that while clay may not be his favored surface, he cannot be written off here. Matosevic, playing in the second round of a grand slam tournament for only the second time after 12 first-round exits in a row, occasionally produced some fireworks but Murray was a class apart, losing serve just once when he served for the match after which he broke back to love. Murray also found himself 40-0 down on serve in the middle of the first set but Matosevic could not convert any of his three chances and was never close to his opponent again. Next up for Murray is Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, a player he has lost to before on clay. "Tough, very tough match for me," Murray, who missed the 2013 French Open with a back injury, said. "I played him once before on clay and I think I got three games or something." The mention of Mauresmo's name in connection with the Murray coaching job set tongues wagging in the French capital, and Murray did not discount the possibility that Lendl's successor could be female. "For me, I don't care," he said. "I don't really care whether some of the other male players like it or not. That doesn't ‑ that's not something that really bothers me. "I was coached by my mum (Judy) for a long time. I have had her around at tournaments for a long time. There has been ex‑players and stuff that have said, Oh, your mum shouldn't be around or she shouldn't come and support you or come to watch. "It's silly. Everyone is entitled to have the team around them that they want. Everyone works very differently. "Some men might not work well with a female. Some men might work well with a female coach. "It's just whatever your preference is and whatever your needs are." (Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Ed Osmond and Stephen Wood)
