Interview: Ivan Lendl, tennis coach and former player

Lendl proved his doubters wrong and can help Andy Murray do the same

ON FIRST meeting, Ivan Lendl does not strike you as a natural agony uncle. Come to think of it, 20 years after that first meeting, the stone-faced former champion still does not seem like an obvious shoulder to cry on. But looks can be deceptive.

As Andy Murray and Lendl approach their first grand slam challenge together – the Australian Open starts tomorrow – there is clearly a bond between the two men. In Murray, the misunderstood champion-in-waiting, Lendl sees much of himself.

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It was almost 30 years ago that Lendl suffered his fourth grand slam final defeat and yet the public reaction to that loss still rankles. He could beat anyone on any surface – he had won 40 tour titles before he claimed his first major – and yet his early failures at the slams marked him out as a choker. As he takes Murray under his wing, he sees in the Scot a familiar sight: a young man with huge potential who is not being given the credit he deserves.

“I felt even then – and I do feel now – very similar to Andy’s situation,” Lendl said. “Nobody pointed out that I over-achieved getting into some of those finals. I was 21 playing [Bjorn] Borg at the French Open. I played a great match, 6-1 in the fifth, but to most people it was just 0 and 1. I lost twice to [Jimmy] Connors at Flushing Meadows. He was a better player both years. Second year I had a chance. I wasn’t fit enough. That brought on my conditioning stint after that. I lost to Mats [Wilander] over here, and I just didn’t really know how to deal with the surface. But people made too much out of it. I just went with the theory or belief that, if I keep going, playing hard, it will come my way and, sure enough, it did.

“I know the media have been on Andy for losing three finals. But, if you look at that, losing to Roger Federer with him being No.1 in the world, losing to Roger Federer in the Australian Open – Roger is arguably the best player who ever played the game – and then losing to Novak [Djokovic]. He was heavily criticised for losing early in the year but then look what a year Novak had. If that came later in the year, nobody would be criticising Andy the way they did earlier.

“So, to me, the era is extremely difficult. I think [Juan Martin] Del Potro is the only guy to win a major other than the top three in a long, long time so to me it’s a bit unfair, the criticism Andy has been getting for those three finals. It’s similar to the situation I was in losing to Borg and Connors. A player needs to mature and I believe Andy’s getting there.”

Lendl first met his new employer five years ago. Stopping by the Bollettieri Academy with his daughters (they were there for the golf), he was introduced to Scotland’s finest by the irrepressible Brad Gilbert. Murray made an instant impression. “He struck me immediately,” Lendl recalled. “He could not have been older than 19, he was extremely smart and extremely polite.” But, back then, Lendl could never have imagined that he would be coaching Murray just a few years later. At the time, he was busy with his roles as a husband and father and was still driven by his dream as a golf pro wannabe. And, anyway, due to the back injury that had forced him into retirement in 1994, he was unable to play tennis.

Even today, at 51, Lendl is not in the business of teaching Murray how to hit the ball. He leaves that to Dani Vallverdu. What he brings to the team is experience and knowledge. And that poker-face.

Murray’s emotional approach has earned him a lot of criticism. A perfectionist, he rages at himself for every missed opportunity and often aims abuse in the general direction of his support crew at the side of the court. Since he announced on New Year’s eve that he was joining forces with Lendl, many a bet has been placed as to how the senior man will take to being on the receiving end of such a tirade. Lendl has made it plain that he does not hold with emotional outbursts – and Murray seems to have taken that to heart. From the moment his new coach arrived in Australia, the world No.4 has been quiet, controlled and unbeatable.

“I think you have to practise it, like everybody else,” Lendl said. “I was very pleased with how Andy handled it in Brisbane when he was 6-1, 4-0 in the final and the guy started making a comeback. Andy did nothing wrong to lose three games in a row. He did not look at the box and shout at the box. He played every point as hard as he could, and I think that is the way forward for him.

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“Whatever he feels he struggles with, if he mentions it to me we will try to improve it. Many times you see things from the outside and they may not appear the way they really are. You can see he is hitting this shot really well and he will come and tell me ‘I don’t feel comfortable with that shot’. There’s a very simple cure. Let’s hit it until he feels comfortable with it. If Andy has a problem with something or doesn’t feel right about something, we will discuss it and try to cure it.”

As they try to cure Murray’s lack of a grand slam title, Lendl is not making any promises. But nor is he throwing in the towel.

“This era is fantastic,” Lendl said. “You’re looking at some of the best players in the history of the game playing in this era, and that’s why Andy’s job is so difficult. You just can’t take anything for granted anymore.”

The only thing to take for granted is that, if anyone can help Murray break his grand slam duck, it is Lendl. And Lendl, being Lendl, will do everything in his power to make it happen.