Andy Murray backs Amelie Mauresmo in her role as first female French Open tournament director

Former World No.1 Andy Murray believes Amelie Mauresmo will do a great job as the new tournament director of the French Open, with the Frenchwoman becoming the first female to hold that position.

Following the resignation of Guy Forget, who had held the position for five years, Mauresmo was named as his replacement by the French Tennis Federation this month.

"It's obviously brilliant for her,” Murray told Eurosport. “I'm sure she'll do a really, really good job. It just seems crazy that it's now nearly 2022 and it’s the first time that a female has been a tournament director there.

“However it's great that she now gets that opportunity. She's very well-respected in tennis certainly and tennis in France as well. I hope it goes well for her, I hope she gets properly supported by everyone. It’ll be interesting to see what she does with the role, what changes she makes”.

Mauresmo worked as Murray's coach from 2014-2016, with the move making headlines as it was atypical for a top male tennis player to hire a woman as a coach. However, the decision paid off as the Brit won his first career titles on clay (including Madrid) and reached the semi-finals of the French Open and Wimbledon during that period.