Andy Murray's lieutenant 'walked out over split with Mauresmo'

Initial reports claimed that Murray had sacked his assistant coach and hitting partner, but the Daily Telegraph reports that Vallverdu "left Andy Murray’s camp last month after becoming disillusioned with Amélie Mauresmo’s coaching set-up."

The 28-year-old Venezuelan had been part of Murray's coaching team for five years, spending up to 42 weeks a year as assistant coach and hitting partner.

But last month the two went their separate ways, with world number seven Tomas Berdych announcing on his Facebook page on Tuesday that he would be working with Vallverdu.

The loss of Vallverdu, according to the paper's report, could be a huge blow for Murray:

"You guys don’t understand how much I relied on Dani," Murray's former coach Ivan Lendl told the paper, with the report adding that things appear to have turned a little sour in Murray's camp.

"Vallverdu and Murray parted on polite terms last month, though it has since emerged that both he and fitness trainer Jez Green – who had spent seven years working on Murray’s physique and movement – took the decision to leave," the report reads.

"They got off to a bad start with Mauresmo when she was appointed with no consultation or even warning, and Vallverdu in particular never managed to build a working relationship with her. At the end of the season both men told Murray that they had given all they could to his cause."