PAL LENDL’S DONE ME A BIG SERVICE
REPORTING FROM SW19
ANDY MURRAY revealed he was snubbed by a host of top coaches in his latest bid to regain a place among the tennis elite. On the eve of Wimbledon, the British ace confirmed he joined forces with Ivan Lendl in March – for the third time in his glittering career – because the American was the only one prepared to support his comeback after hip surgery.
Murray, who had Lendl in his corner for his three Grand Slam wins and two Olympic triumphs, expressed his gratitude for the show of faith.
The two-time Wimbledon winner, fit following an abdominal injury he suffered at the Stuttgart Open, said: “Having Ivan on my team helps.we’ve had a lot of success in the past.
“We know each other well. He still believes in me.there’s not loads of coaches out there that have done that over this last period. He has.”
Asked if he took the rejections personally, the world No.51 added: “No, not really. It hasn’t hurt me. In many ways it’s been a motivation.
“From memory, up until this period, there was maybe one or two times when I’d spoken to coaches about working with me that it hadn’t worked out.
“Whereas this time round, I got turned down by a lot of coaches.
“Obviously, it was difficult to deal with because I don’t know how many top-level coaches there are that you’d want to work with when trying to win the major events.
“That’s why I’m grateful that Ivan has come back to help me try to achieve what
I want.”
Murray, 35, who went all the way here in 2013 and 2016, appears to have a reasonable draw in the top half.
He opens up against
Aussie James
Duckworth tomorrow before a possible second-round scrap with
20th seed John Isner, against whom he has a good record.
And if he can make it through to the second week there is a potential mouth-watering quarter-final showdown with holder
Novak Djokovic.
Sir Andy, a third-round loser 12 months ago, is quietly optimistic going into his favourite fortnight.
The Brit, beaten in the Stuttgart final by 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini, said: “I showed a couple weeks ago that there was still good tennis left in me.
“Before my injury I beat a guy in the top five (Stefanos Tsitsipas) and then was neck-and-neck with Berrettini, who is one of the best grass court players in the world.
“And I’ve been doing pretty well in practice since then. I know the tennis is in there. I just need to bring it out during the event.”
Meanwhile, Murray insists he would never compete in Saudi Arabia – even if they offered him a sackful of cash.
Responding to the possibility tennis could face a similar crisis to the one ripping golf apart, he said: “They did.they put on an event in Saudi Arabia a few years ago, and I was offered to play there.
“I would say a lot of the top players and bigger names turned it down
‘‘And I, personally, wouldn’t go and play there.”
‘Coaches turned me down and it was difficult to deal with’