[angiebabez]

http://www.espn.co.uk/tennis/sport/story/391743.html

[Ruthie]

thanks Angie I agree with 5rings.  Could be that Andy and Amelie were made for each other.  I'd love to see it going on to be a long-term really successful partnership.

[amongsttheleaves]

Thanks Angie. That was very interesting. Oooer, she holds a grudge tho
Elle est magnifique...IMO

Well, there's some who probably deserve to have a grudge held against them (a whole list could be compiled from the AO 1999 alone). But I think that last bit should also be taken with a pinch of salt as there was always a weird thing with the French journalists thinking that they were Amelie's friends or something, and that they knew her personally because they wrote articles about her. I've sometimes wondered if some of the British journalists have the same slightly skewed idea of 'knowing' Andy.

Interesting article though, seems like Andy and Amelie have really taken the time get to know each other and to build up a strong working relationship to form the basis of their coaching partnership.

[Fiverings]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/30781023

  The whole deal with Mauresmo gets more and more fascinating - she seems to have much in common with Andy - very skilful and tennis-savvy, but with a soupçon of outsider/inferiority-complex mixed in. I think most of the critics are pissing in the dark even if they are proved right in the end but I'm really looking forward to seeing how this plays through.

[michelle]

Elly I have a feeling that you will be proved wrong. They are working well together and Andy is happy and relaxed, he is working on different parts of his game. You can get more out of someone with a spoonful of honey than with a whip. I have always found that if you listen and try to understand what a person wants or feels, then offer your ideas it tends to yield a hundredfold and this seems to be what Amelie is doing.
But I suppose we will both have to wait and see ........

[Ruthie]

I thought it was interesting what Andy said in his Eurosport interview yesterday when he was asked to compare Amelie and Ivan and what Amelie brought.   He talked about how she listens (which he's said before) and tries to see things from the player's perspective whereas often ex-player coaches often see it from their own perspective.  Couldn't have been talking about Mr L could he? 

[amongsttheleaves]

Not sure if this is an indication of Andy serving well in practice with Ben Mitchell today or not!

From Andy's Facebook page

This serve was probably a little bit too close to your head today..
Sorry Amelie!
#AusOpen2015

[amongsttheleaves]

I thought it was interesting what Andy said in his Eurosport interview yesterday when he was asked to compare Amelie and Ivan and what Amelie brought.   He talked about how she listens (which he's said before) and tries to see things from the player's perspective whereas often ex-player coaches often see it from their own perspective.  Couldn't have been talking about Mr L could he? 

In his first AO column Andy mentioned this but referred to other coaches he'd had and didn't specify ex-player coaches, so it is interesting he should specify now. I've actually just remembered something Laura Robson said around Queens or Wimbledon, where when asked about Amelie's appointment, she said (this isn't word for word) that if you look at all the coaches Andy has had each one has had a specific purpose, a particular aim.

Obviously with Lendl it was to win the big titles, and I think at the time Andy did whatever it took to get those titles. Whether it meant doing stuff which impacted upon his body, or just doing exactly what Lendl said without question, Andy did it.

Having won three big titles, playing in a style which (perhaps) he wasn't totally in love with, and also gained a serious injury, I think Andy took stock and thought how do I play in a way that I enjoy, whilst also winning and not damaging my body? It seems that not all of the team were totally on board with Andy having the surgery (if we believe that he was persuaded not to have it before the USO 2013 and that Lendl didn't want him to have it), which might well have caused tension/friction. Added to that there were differences of opinion about training, and Andy felt he wasn't being listened to. If Laura Robson is right about Andy's coaches having a particular purpose, then it think it has been fairly clear that Amelie's purpose as a coach is to help him weave together flair, variety, defence and aggression, and to win playing this way (just as she did), but that the methodology for achieving this is about working things out in discussion, by asking questions, by listening to the answers, providing insight and suggestions, unpicking little, almost imperceptible, things and putting them back together in a way that makes them better. Along with that Amelie also brings her own playing and life experience, and Andy likes that. They share a very strong work ethic, and I think they also share a particular delight in working stuff out to constantly improve. Of course I say all this without knowing either of them, but it is just my interpretation having followed both of their careers very closely, and got a lot of enjoyment out of watching them play.