Tuesday 29 March 2016 08:08, UK
Andy Murray has dismissed talk of a rift with his coach Amelie Mauresmo after losing to Grigor Dimitrov in the Miami Open.
Mauresmo watched Murray lose 6-7 (7-1), 6-4, 6-3 from a different part of the stadium from the rest of his team and family.
The Scot produced more than 50 unforced errors in an uncharacteristic defeat in which he lost his temper and smashed his racquet against his bag and was given a warning by the umpire.
Murray claims Mauresmo purposely took up a different courtside position in an attempt to help him control his tantrums.
He said: "I've just been trying to find different ways to improve my focus on the court. I also did the same thing at the O2 Arena as well.
"I'm trying to find different ways to improve and that's something I've tested to see if that might help.
"If I'd had a falling out then Amelie wouldn't be here at the tournament. We had dinner with all our families last night, so we certainly haven't fallen out.
"It's one of those things that when I win no one says anything about it. When I lose that's an excuse. I don't think that is the reason for me hitting 50 unforced errors in this match."
While Dimitrov showed the kind of form that had taken him into the world's top 10 two years ago, Murray was far from his best and contributed to his own downfall.
The 28-year-old has been adapting to life as a father for the first time following the birth of his daughter, winning just two ATP Tour matches.
Despite guiding Great Britain to a successful start to their Davis Cup defence against Japan, Murray suffered a surprise defeat to Federico Delbonis before losing to Dimitrov at a venue he used as his winter training base each year.
"It's very disappointing," Murray added. "I had plenty of time to prepare and practice for this. I got myself in a winning position so it couldn't have been that bad, but couldn't close it out.
"There were far too many unforced errors that crept in towards the end. Grigor is obviously a very good player but I also had opportunities in this match.
"I was up a break in the third, same at Indian Wells, then lost a run of games in both matches. I need to look at that and see where I go from there."
