Lendl’s new pupil taught harsh lesson by Djokovic
IVAN LENDL shook up tennis’s world order when he helped turn Andy Murray into a Grand Slam champion six years ago, and now he wants to do the same with Alex Zverev. The Czech coach is now working with the German and yesterday it looked like he was having a swift effect, the youngster creating several chances to get on top of Novak Djokovic at the Nitto ATP Finals. But the opportunities were fleeting and their group encounter ended with yet another straight-sets result at the O2 Arena, the world No 1 prevailing 6-4, 6-1 after a tight first set. Lendl has declined interview requests this week but confirmed that he intends to spend a lot of time with the 21-year-old Zverev next season, far more than he was prepared to do in his second spell with Murray, which ended a year ago this week. He is trying to ensure Zverev delivers on the talent which has seen him rise to No 3 in the world while failing to make much impression at the Grand Slams. The need for some fresh major-winning talent to emerge has been underscored so far this week, with one-sided matches and the older brigade beating down younger challengers. The best players on show have been 31-year-old Djokovic and 32-year-old Kevin Anderson. The latter faces Roger Federer tonight and, while the maths is complex, the Swiss probably needs to win to make the semi-finals here in London. Djokovic believes Zverev’s appointment is a smart move. ‘Having Lendl in your box as your mentor is very valuable,’ he said. The 31-year-old Serb namechecked three other players in their early twenties as ones to watch: Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, Russian Karen Khachanov and Croatian Borna Coric. British No 1 Kyle Edmund would not be far behind. Zverev’s challenge was a familiar tale. He had two break points at 4-4, on one of which he missed a lob by inches. After that he subsided and once again a match finished inside one hour and 20 minutes. The German still has a chance of making the semi-finals due to the round-robin format.