MURRAY TRAINS AT KEY BISCAYNE BY RICHARD EVANS

Written by: Staff on 16th December 2016

MURRAY TRAINS AT KEY BISCAYNE BY RICHARD EVANS

epa05638628 Britain's Andy Murray in action against Milos Raonic of Canada during their Men's singles semi final match at the ATP World Tour finals tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 19 November 2016. EPA/HAYOUNG JEON |

Andy Murray is bent over in a small shaded area at the back of the Stadium Court at Key Biscayne, having just completed one of a dozen one minute blasts at two coaches at the net.

He looks at his watch. “1.85” he gasps at physio Mark Bender who is noting the heartbeat of the No 1 tennis player in the world. Meanwhile Grigor Dimitrov is doing his one minute drill. Murray returns to the baseline and checks his watch. When the heartbeat gets down to 1.65, he goes again.

You almost wince every time he hits the ball, fearing not that the racket might break but that Jamie Delgado, his assistant coach, and Dani Vallverdu, Andy’s long time friend who now works with Dimitrov, might be felled by the sheer velocity of the yellow object being propelled towards them.

Delgado, a long time doubles expert on the ATP tour, is complimented on his defensive volleying. “Andy’s been trying to hit me for a year now and I’m proud to say he hasn’t managed it yet,” Delgado grins.

In fact, the reflex speed and all round volleying skills of Delgado and Vallverdu are remarkable during this period of a varied three hour training stint. Of the countless powerpacked balls Murray and Dimitrov hit at them, they err no more than 10% of the time.

But it doesn’t matter if they miss. Another ball is thrown onto court instantly, so the flow of hitting never stops. “It’s about keeping the heart rate up,” says Matt Little, Murray’s long time fitness expert.

The same kind of drill is repeated from the back of the court, sometimes with Murray and Dimitrov hitting against each other full out on every shot for a minute – packing in 25 to 30 strokes. The kids from the Junior Orange bowl which is taking place on outdoor courts, blink and gasp as they watch from a corner of the otherwise deserted stadium.

Not even a broken string breaks the rhythm. When one of Grigor’s goes, he throws his racket to Dani who promptly throws the one he has had in his hand to Grigor and the rally continues seamlessly.

The Bulgarian, who showed signs of discovering his best form in 2016, finishing the year at No 17, has the lean and hungry look. Without his shirt, he appears almost skinny. When asked if he had lost weight, he replies, “Actually I think I have put a bit on!”

It is a good sign for Dimitrov’s legion of worldwide fans that he has agreed to join Murray in these sessions. They are not for the weak hearted and bespeak of serious commitment. This could be a pivotal season for the one time world No 8 (August 2014) who, one tends to forget, is still only 24. Plenty of time to fulfill that rich potential.

With Ivan Lendl conducting proceedings; the young British player Kyle Edmund waiting to take over the court with his coaches and Jez Green, the fitness trainer who worked with Murray for eight years, also present for a time, it seemed like old pals week.

The fact that Green and Vallverdu decided to move on when Murray appointed Amelie Mauresmo as his coach during the Lendl hiatus, has done little to impair personal relationships and the group on court on this sunny but nor overly hot Miami day had all known each other so long that the atmosphere was one of no-stress commitment and professionalism.

Attention to detail was apparent in every move made but there were still time for humorous asides. When Lendl sat on a chair at the service line, he said, “Should I call the lines?”

“Not sure about your line calling abilities,” Murray shot back. Andy called his own lines.

Given that no one ever gets to practice on the Centre Court at Wimbledon, Murray has probably spent more time on the site of the Miami Open than any court in the world. This year, he will spend just a couple of weeks in Miami before heading over to Dubai on his way to Australia.

Welcome back to town, Andy. Good to see you again. – Photo by @miamiopen via Instagram.

“But we used to spend months here at various times in the year,” say Green who had so much to do with building the world No 1 into the physical specimen he is today.

Building the base to create a platform for the talent to flow has always been the mantra and Green is justifiably proud of playing such an important role in the process.

“Andy’s last six months have been incredible and I’m just so happy for him,” says Green, “And that goes for Jamie, too. What an achievement for the family to have two world No 1’s. Judy laid the foundation for that. I have so much respect for what she has achieved for British tennis.”

Green, meanwhile, is working with another family, the Zverev’s. Hired to train the lean 6 ft 6” Sascha, who is 19, Jez has inevitably found himself working with the brother, Mischa, who is ten years older but has been so inspired by his young sibling’s success that his own career has bounced back from injury and a Davy Jones locker ranking of 1067 as recently as March 2015, to finish this year at 51.

“We are gently building up Sacha’s core strength but, in the meantime, Mischa has been getting fitter than ever before,” says Green. “He is really in great shape right now.”:

Lots to build on for the Zverev’s but for Murray? Any changes in the training block routine? Lendl smiles. “He is world No 1. We are not re-inventing the wheel here.”

In other words Andy Murray is where he likes to be just before Christmas. With his inspiring coach at his side, the Florida sun on his back and Melbourne ahead. Five times he has made the Australian Open final. The difference this time is that he will travel Down Under as the World No 1.

Topics: 10sballs.com, Amelie Mauresmo, Andy Murray, Ivan Lendl, Key Biscayne, Miami Open, Richard Evans, Sports, Tennis News