Andy Murray Thrilled To Link Up With Coach Ivan Lendl

 

Andy Murray admits he had other coaching offers but says Ivan Lendl was the only one he wanted as the Scot bids to clinch another Wimbledon title this summer. Lendl will begin his second stint coaching Murray on Tuesday, when the Scot starts grass-court preparations against Nicolas Mahut in the first round of the Aegon Championships at Queen's.

Gunning for a record fifth title at Queen's, Murray will then head to Wimbledon as Novak Djokovic's greatest threat in a fortnight, before the Olympics, where he could win double gold in the singles and doubles, and the US Open in August. Several former players had been linked to the vacant coaching role with Murray but, after Amelie Mauresmo's departure last month, he says there was only one name that sprung to mind.

Murray said “Ivan was the one guy that I'd spoken to Matt (Gentry, his agent) about a few weeks ago. There were a number of people who had come forward that wanted to at least discuss it and talk about it. The last few weeks have been so busy, I hadn't really thought loads about it. I think with the base that I have after the last few months and the confidence I've gained from the way that I played on the clay, I'm very happy with my team. Now adding Ivan, I'm in a good place going into Wimbledon”

In the final weeks of his partnership with Mauresmo, some disappointing results for Murray appeared to coincide with an increasingly irritable demeanour on court. Mauresmo later referred to his complex psychological state but Murray downplayed the issue and offers no guarantees it will improve under Lendl saying “I think everyone reads into that what they will, It certainly was not perfect when I was working before with Ivan, maybe I was better. There have been times over the last few weeks where I have been good and sometimes not so good. You read into it a lot and ask me about it a lot - I don't know how much different it was then to what it is just now”