Andy Murray Credits Ivan Lendl For His Improvement On Court

Written by: Staff on 8th July 2013

Andy Murray Credits Ivan Lendl For His Improvement On Court

epa03762508 Britain's Andy Murray and his coach Ivan Lendl during a training session for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 27 June 2013. EPA/ANDY RAIN |

Andy Murray said that taking on five-time grand slam champion Ivan Lendl, 53, as his coach in January, 2012, was a wise move, adding that the Czech who hides his emotions during matches behind sunglasses and an unchanging expression has been a huge boost to his game.

“He believed in me when a lot of people didn’t. He stuck by me through obviously some tough losses the last couple of years. He’s been very patient with me. I’m just happy I managed to do it for him.”

Murray’s biggest recent heartbreak came in the 2012 Wimbledon final when he became the first British man since Fred Perry to reach the title showdown. But he was beaten by Federer and could not hold back the tears. Three weeks later he got his own back against the Swiss with an Olympic gold medal at Federer’s expense at Wimbledon before going on to his breakthrough US Open title, his first at a major.

“Ivan’s made me learn more from the losses that I’ve had than maybe I did in the past. I think he’s always been very honest with me. He’s always told me exactly what he thought”,” said Murray. “In tennis, it’s not always that easy to do in a player/coach relationship. The player is sometimes the one in charge. I think sometimes coaches are not always that comfortable doing that.

“He’s been extremely honest with me. If I work hard, he’s happy. If I don’t, he’s disappointed, and he’ll tell me.

“When I’ve lost matches, last year after the final he told me he was proud of the way I played because I went for it when I had chances. It was the first time I played a match in a Grand Slam final like that. He’s got my mentality slightly different going into those sort of matches.”

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: Andy Murray, Ivan Lendl, Tennis Coaching, Tennis News, Wimbledon Championships