THE morning sickness kicked in for Amelie Mauresmo around the turn of the year.

In the heat of Miami or Australia, the Frenchwoman felt sluggish and lethargic most mornings but she was determined not to let it show. Andy Murray had enough to worry about.

Despite a storming run of wins to place his book at the ATP World Tour finals late in the year, the Scot had just been crushed 6-0, 6-1 in London by Roger Federer. Dani Vallverdu had gone, and now her position too was under severe scrutiny.

But it was round about this time, quietly tweaking his game on the practice courts, that Murray was to undergo a rebirth of sorts. With her first child due to arrive in mid-August, the 36-year-old from the Parisian suburb of St Germain-en-Laye will absent herself on maternity leave shortly after SW19. The rest is uncertain too but for now her influence sees the Scot's hopes of a second Wimbledon win grow pregnant with expectation.

"December and January was a bit tough for me, let's put it this way," said Mauresmo. "But I don't think he noticed anything. You feel more tired, definitely, but it was a big challenge. Dani had left the team and it was just me. We had not found someone yet to share the time so basically you have no choice.

"He had played basically almost every week, going pretty far in the tournaments," she added. "So there was no way you could work on the specifics that he needed. But once we were set for the last month of 2014 and the start of 2015, it was really good. It was needed in his game and he knew it at the time. That's why he put all the effort in that preparation."

Mauresmo already has one Wimbledon coaching honour on her list of palmares - she was part of Marion Bartoli's entourage back when Murray was taking this title in 2013 - but coaching a male winner to glory whilst eight months pregnant would be something else entirely. While she hit with Murray as recently as last month's French Open, her condition limits her these days to a watching brief on the practice ground.

As for the future of the arrangement once the baby arrives, she says only that there are "too many unknowns", but at least a suitable time share partner has been found. So for now, while Jonas Bjorkman does the grunt work, Mauresmo exercises only her brain. A combination of the tactical insights of all three are responsible for formulating the game plans with which the Scot drives most in the world game to distraction, including the one which he will take on court against Vasek Pospisil today. Asking who is boss is ultimately rather irrelevant. "It's not about who is boss or who isn't boss," she said. "It's about how Andy is going forward in these tournaments."

The arrangement is more than just professional. Being coached by someone is always easier if you like them too. Since joining Team Murray approximately 12 months ago, a whirlwind opening which saw their first tilt at Wimbledon founder, Mauresmo has developed a bond with her charge who finds it easier to open up to her than in the testosterone-fuelled environment of men's tennis.

Like her own coach Loic Courteau, who was also briefly linked with a role in Murray's team, the pair maintain a close relationship, even if their physical closeness is strained at times by the conventions of tennis. Mauresmo, after all, is allowed no access to the gentlemen's locker room for assistance in those crucial moments before walking on court.

"We have needed a bit of time to adapt," said Mauresmo. "He was used to having his coach there just before a match. But the idea is that if Andy feels stressed or worried, we can communicate. For example, he can come out earlier before a match so we can talk. By phone. Or send a text so we can meet up. It is up to him to say because I can't see him. I also rely a lot on the other guys in the team: the physio, the trainer. I can pass them a message. And they can tell me if they find that Andy needs me. It is above all Andy who has had to adapt. My old coach was a man. So he couldn't go in the women's locker-room. I am used to that."

In any case, it is an arrangement which has defied the conventions of modern tennis, and may do so still further if she ends up on the tour with a young child in tow. "The thing is to show to certain players, who maybe did not dare, that it is possible to have a woman coach," she said. "If there are few women who coach on the women's tour, it is because it is less easy to reconcile the job with family life. You say to your partner: "I am leaving for four weeks, I am coming back for two and then I am leaving again for five..." Historically, socially, that has always been more acceptable coming from a man."

It is this interface of the personal, professional and political which keeps Mauresmo around, in the full glare of the Wimbledon paparazzi, when some days she must hanker for the chance to put her feet up. "I share less time with Andy off the court than I did with Loic, especially here at Wimbledon," she added. "He's at home and after the job is done we all go our separate ways.

"But I like the relationship we have," she added. "I would not have stayed around if the human part of the relationship wasn't going to be good. I would also not stay around if the results were not good or if he wasn't happy with that. So it's a combination. We speak a lot - but not just about the psychological side. We also talk about his game. For him, it is easier with a woman, at least right now. Between guys, there is always a competitive side. I am not into that.

"Since we met again in December in Miami, he has put in so much effort in his daily practice, recovery, food, whatever you can think of. He's a great guy to work with. It has been a nice trip."