Murray 'astonished' at criticism over Mauresmo's appointment as coach

Britain's Andy Murray has said he is amazed by the criticism of his decision to appoint Amelie Mauresmo as his coach.

The tennis ace said he knew it would be a big story at the beginning but thought it would die down eventually, the BBC reported.

He added that he was very surprised at the amount of criticism Mauresmo had received for each loss he had, insisting that it was unbelievable to see the negativity towards her personally.

The world number three became the first leading male player to appoint a female coach when he chose the former French tennis player.

Mauresmo, a winner of two Grand Slam tournaments and 25 WTA titles, was appointed by Murray last June, after previous coach Ivan Lendl quit.