MR MOTIVATOR
Lendl: I can’t teach Andy technique, but he doesn’t need that anyway
HONESTY is part of the Ivan Lendl coaching philosophy, as you are starkly reminded when asking if he has made any technical tweaks to Andy Murray’s game since they reunited.
The reply is blunt: ‘I don’t do any technique, zero. I believe that at 27 or 29 years old, what you have is what you have. You can groove certain things but changing technique is not where I’m going to go,’ says Lendl, 56.
‘It’s because a) I don’t believe you should do it at that age and b) I suck at it. Even working with the juniors I ask for someone who’s good at it because I suck at it.
‘I can see there is something wrong with your forehand and see what it is but I have no idea how to fix that.
‘It’s more about grooving the things you need to use and making sure they are ticking over.’
So there you have it, in the inimitable terms of the man himself.
As Lendl prepares Murray for the coming fortnight at Wimbledon — he plays on Tuesday against compatriot Liam Broady — he sees himself more in the role of tactician, manager and motivator. And what he says is fair enough. At 29, Murray is a fully-formed tennis player who knows his method backwards but the Scot clearly feels he functions better with Lendl sitting implacably in his corner.
A week ago he backed that up by beating Milos Raonic in the Aegon Championships final at Queen’s.
The coaching clash between Lendl and John McEnroe attracted a lot of attention but the Czech-born American regarded that as a lot of nonsense.
He said: ‘I’m going to put this as politely as I can, outside you guys I don’t think anybody thought about it.’
Did he swap many pleasantries with his old rival afterwards? ‘No. He came in and said “well done” in the locker room, we said “thank you” and that was it.
‘There is no need to chat to other players or their team about what you thought. You chat with your own player.’
So Lendl is back on the trail, having sacrificed entries into several golf events to be here, including qualifying for the Connecticut Open.
His hope is that, two weeks today, the pair can recreate the heady Sunday three years ago when Murray took the title, nine months ahead of them splitting up. Lendl is clear about his favourite memory of the day Novak Djokovic was beaten.
He says: ‘How well Andy played. That was great to see. Because that’s what the whole team had been struggling for, for him to do well in the finals and he really performed tremendously.
‘What stands out most in my mind is the pressure Andy was under.
‘I would go out and on the streets people would be saying, “I hope he can do it, I hope he can do it”, and at that time I realised how different and how much bigger that pressure is.
‘In 2012, even before the final, people on the streets were saying, “We hope you can do it, it has been so long”.
‘I never experienced pressure on that level but I knew what Andy was dealing with. And that he was able to deal with it was very good, it was beautiful to see.’
The player he is likely to have to beat
again is Djokovic and coach Boris Becker has said that the Serb’s childhood experiences of NATO bombing have made him crave success more than any other player.
Lendl acknowledges there may be something i n this but he does not think Murray needs to be as intimidated when it comes to playing the world No 1 as others are on the tennis circuit.
‘I have seen a lot of people in different sports overcome huge obstacles and that makes them mentally tough, there is no doubt about it,’ he said.
‘And from what I understand with the war in Serbia and so on, it couldn’t have been easy for Djokovic but Boris knows him better than me.
‘Every player who is at the head of the game is held in respect by the other players but I’m not sure it’s as much with the other top players.
‘Once you get enough matches against your main rivals, I don’t think it’s that much of a factor.’