AMERICAN tennis legend Billie Jean King has served up a novel way to deal with Andy Murray’s treatment of his coaching staff – let them fine him.
The British No1, who lost French Open final against Novak Djokovic on Sunday, is well-known for his mid-match mutterings.
His looks of anguish and self-deprecating explosions after mistakes to go with his audible complaints directed toward his team in the stands, were plain to see at Roland Garros.
And King, 72, a winner of 39 Grand Slam titles during her career, including 12 singles, 16 women’s doubles, and 11 mixed doubles titles before she retired in 1983, is not a fan of that behaviour.
The six-time Wimbledon champion, who was at Roland Garros to present women’s singles champion Garbine Muguruza with her trophy, said: “All that is a cop-out.
“I’ve done that. I’ve done it myself. It means I’m not taking responsibility.
“If he accepts responsibility, he will be so tough.”
And she has a perfect remedy for it – from her own coaching days.
She revealed that when she and Craig Kardon coached Martina Navratilova, they would fine her every time she looked at them.
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King said: “Craig and I said, ‘Martina, every time you even look at us, it’s money for Billie and beers for Craig’.
“And it worked. It’s a fun way to make your point.”
Murray has now said he needs a rest following a draining tournament in Paris.
The Brit No1 claims the clay court season really took it out of him and he wants to be fit and firing for his season highlight; Wimbledon.
Muzz said: “I have never had a clay-court season like that one, never won that many matches.
“I need to rest and allow my body to recover.
“I played in such difficult conditions over the past couple of weeks – heavy slow, physical matches.
“I need to recover a bit before getting back on the grass and training again.”
Murray spent a whopping 20 hours on court at Roland Garros, as well as long slogs at the Italian Open, Madrid Open and the Monte Carlo Masters.
His next tournament is the Queen’s Club grass, when he defends his title at the Aegon Championships.
After that, it’s on to SW19…
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