Two time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray will reignite the successful partnership with former coach Ivan Lendl. Murray is looking to appoint Lendl for the upcoming grass tournament at Queens, while confirming that Lendl will be in his corner for the Championships in Wimbledon in three weeks time. It’s safe to say that Murray played his best tenis when under the authority of Ivan Lendl – winning two grand slams at Wimbledon and the US Open, while also being triumphant in the London Olympics.
The Past Impact of Coach Ivan Lendl
Lendl brought out the best in Murray, which made it a perfect fit. Murray had admiration for not only the career of Lendl, but he also respected what he brought as a coach. As much as the negative body language continued to be apparent when Murray was with Lendl, it felt like he lost his cool on a tennis court much less with the Czech super coach. It almost felt like Murray had a silent agreement with Lendl that if Lendl was going to get the absolute maximum output from Murray, that he would have to control his behaviour in the big moments of a tennis match and Murray did everything Lendl asked of him.
Although Murray has rebounded well since leaving the Top 10 following back surgery, he has not recaptured grand slam winning form. The form that elevated his game to the next level – can Ivan Lendl make a grand slam winning return to the Murray camp? Well, it is easy to forget how well Amelie Mauresmo performed as Murray’s coach. He appointed Mauresmo in the build up to Queens in 2014 and she brought back the feel good factor to his game. I think the one thing Murray is in desperate search for is finding a constant, stable team that can guide him into the twilight of his career. He had that stability with Dani Vallverdu, who knew Murray on a personal level for quite some time. Vallverdu did a lot of the work behind the scenes and played an integral part to the success of Andy Murray.
Now Murray has a great team that understands him on a personal level, with long time friend Jamie Delgado appointed as a coach also. Now Murray will employ Ivan Lendl as the special factor that can drive him through the pressurized moments of a grand slam tennis match, which is essential against the bigger names like Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. That is something special that only a few top coaches can bring to players as gifted as Murray.
Will Lendl and Murray be just as successful second time around? It remains to be seen, but one thing that is for certain is that Lendl may have been that missing ingredient that Murray has needed since they split in 2014.
