Melbourne: Australian doubles legend Mark Woodforde has promised to remain as coach of Marinko Matosevic despite being openly criticised by the player after his defeat at the Australian Open.

Woodforde told a leading newspaper that he would honour his commitment to Matosevic, nicknamed "Mad Dog", who slammed him for not shouting out support during his first round loss to Japan`s Kei Nishikori.

"We have a deal to spend quite a bit of time with him this year," Woodforde said.

Matosevic turned his anger on fans and the chair umpire as well as Woodforde during the five-set defeat to the 16th seed in extreme heat on Tuesday.

Afterwards, he explained: "I wanted my coach to vocally support me, but he wouldn`t. I`ve spoken about it before, but I don`t know. Some players need verbal support, some don`t.

"I`m a player that likes it and needs it and wants it. So if my coach is just going to sit there and clap, I expect more."

Woodforde, one half of Australia`s famous "Woodies" doubles pairing alongside Todd Woodbridge, said he had discussed the issue with Matosevic and now wants to move on.

"The first two sets were very competitive and then I think it all caught up with him," Woodforde said.

He added: "I know he`s going to be ticked that he didn`t come up with a victory but, you know what, the tennis season goes on. Let`s get on with it."