by Our Sports Desk

Tim Henman hopes Andy Murray’s partnership with new coach Amelie Mauresmo will prove to be a long-term arrangement.

Murray has hired the Frenchwoman initially for the grass-court season but both have already stated their intention to work together for longer.

Mauresmo has so far been even more of a high-profile appointment than her predecessor Ivan Lendl, who guided Murray to his first two grand slam titles in their two-and-a-half-years together.

It was Lendl who ended the partnership in March, with both men having previously expressed their hope that they might work together for the rest of Murray’s career.

In the end Lendl decided he no longer wanted to commit the necessary time to the arrangement, a decision that initially hit Murray hard.

Henman said: “I think it’s certainly an interesting choice.

“I think the timing of it is not that straightforward, coming in at this time of year, trying to build that relationship when the eyes of the world are on them both.

“But I certainly do hope it works, because the continuity for him is really important, so I think they should stick together for a good while now.

“Chopping and changing I don’t think is so good for him in the long-run, so fingers crossed it works out well.”

Murray’s decision to choose a female coach, the highest-profile male player ever to do so, has been the talk of tennis over the past two weeks.

Most people have been positive about the appointment but there have been dissenters, most notably fellow former Wimbledon champion Virginia Wade who said she thought the announcement was a “shock” and a “stunt”.

“The only things he can control are preparation and performance,” said Henman.

“What’s been talked about in the press, on the television and radio, people’s opinions on his new coach, he can’t control that, so there’s no point in worrying about that.”