Amelie Mauresmo is no different from any of her peers. Like them, she is counting the days until she can lay down her racket at the end of an 11-month season, even if it is only for a couple of weeks. Nevertheless, she appreciates that this has been a special year, with the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles confirming her as a true champion — an accolade to which she had questioned her right — with 34 weeks as the world’s No 1 female player cementing her belief, and $2.8m in prize money providing financial back-up.
Such a realisation makes her final task of the year a joyous challenge. On Tuesday she will walk on court at Madrid’s Casa de Campo in defence of the