Will Judy Murray Be In The Players Box @The Sony In Miami?

Written by: Staff on 21st March 2014

Will Judy Murray Be In The Players Box @The Sony In Miami?

epa04035807 Andy Murray's mother Judy Murray applauds during the quarter final match between Britain's Murray and Roger Federer of Switzerland at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 22 January 2014. EPA/JOE CASTRO AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT |

As Andy Murray faces up to one of the most important ten days of his year with the ranking points from being champion of the Sony Open in Miami to defend, he has admitted he is emotionally wounded and distinctly down in the dumps after being rocked by Ivan Lendl’s decision to stand down as his coach.

Tuesday’s initial statement from Murray’s management company 77 suggested the split was a mutual thing but the Scot has made it plain he wanted the two and a quarter years partnership that realized the Wimbledon and US Open titles as well an Olympic gold medal, to continue for several more years.

Murray revealed the parting of the ways became apparent over dinner in Miami last weekend and he is still coming to terms with the fact Lendl will no longer be on hand, either in person or on the end of a telephone, to offer his counsel. “It’s a shame and it’s a tough one for me because this was the best part of my career,” said the 26 year-old. “And the next couple of days on the court were not particularly fun. I was gutted but I still think the guy is great. It’s not like anything has changed there.

“Ivan wants to do other things. The time required I think to make a difference is more than he could offer right now. I have a lot to thank him for he made a huge difference to my game and also to my team. He’s been a big part of my life really so it’s tough.”

“We both agreed it was a nice conversation over dinner. He is going to come and watch my matches here. I will be disappointed for a few weeks but you have to move on. Who knows, maybe it is the spark that I need.”

The pair had not met up personally for nearly two months, since Murray lost in the Australian Open quarterfinals to Roger Federer. The Scot’s top form has understandably been absent as he has been striving to recapture full match fitness since undergoing back surgery at the end of September but he thinks concern about his coaching situation might have been effecting his performances of late.

Murray was distinctly below par past week at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and said: “Maybe thinking about these kind of things for a couple of months, that can throw you off a little.

“I don’t know what vibe I was giving off. It’s not like you’re thinking about it when you’re preparing to serve. But at the back of your head, there might be something going on. Now I need to move on and find something different.”

As reported previously in Tennis News, the major issue was how much time Lendl was prepared to give Murray. In 2012, their first year together, the pair spent 25 weeks together. Last season, that number slid to 20 and with Lendl wanting to play more on the PowerShares series and ATP Champions Tour as well as dedicate more time to his golf and tennis academy in South Carolina, that figure would have fallen still further.

Murray thinks he requires somebody on an almost permanent basis and said: “If I went and spoke to whoever, Rod Laver, and said, ‘Look I’d love you to work with me’, and he said, ‘Yeah I’d love to work with you too but I can only be available for one week’, I would say, ‘Well, you can’t make a difference in one week’.

“So it wasn’t like Ivan was saying one week. But I just feel like, to make a change and to make a difference, you need to spend a decent amount of time with the player.

“Ivan completely understands that as well. And that was why we decided to stop working together, because it wasn’t going to be of benefit to anyone doing the job half-baked. It had to be done properly. That’s what Ivan’s like.”

Topics: 10sballs, Andy Murray, Federer, Ivan Lendl, Judy Murray, Miami, Sony Open, Tennis, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

March 21, 2014 at 8:12 am

Will Judy Murray Be In The Players Box @ The Sony In Miami? – http://t.co/KuTRG3rK7A @judmoo @SonyOpenTennis #Miami @andy_murray #tennisnews