The undeniable chemistry of Ivan Lendl and Andy Murray
He shook hands with his opponent, with the chair umpire, then he burst into tears as he sat on his bench at Centre Court. Andy Murray turned emotional after his second Wimbledon title, his third Grand Slam overall. Last time Andy won a Grand Slam, it was in 2013 and the title he won was Wimbledon.
Murray has been consistent this year, reaching the finals of every Grand Slam so far. After losing the French Open, he approached Ivan Lendl to help him prepare for the upcoming Wimbledon; maybe realising that he needed something extra going into the tournament. The tournament is played on his most favorite surface and that too front in front of his home crowd. Most importantly, he wanted to ensure that he doesn't miss out on a third Grand Slam thisyear. The last time Andy won Wimbledon, he had Ivan on his side.
Ivan accepted Andy's proposal, but he knew the seriousness of the task ahead. Novak Djokovic had defeated Andy twice earlier in the year in both the grand slam finals. Novak had recently completed his career Grand slam and had recently become the first man in the open era to consecutively win all the four grand slams. Novak has been playing formidable tennis, has been in the form of his life and was the clear favorite to win Wimbledon.
Not to forget, he was also defending his title here.
As the tournament progressed, Andy made less work of his early round matches. At the other end, Querrey had caused the upset of the tournament by defeating Novak in the third round. Andy now became the clear favorite to win the tournament. Andy found himself in deep trouble in his quarter final match against Tsonga after going two sets down. It seemed that this would be another upset. Ivan looked worried in Andy's box.
Andy regrouped and started to impose himself on Tsonga. He began to play more aggressively and the his yelling grew louder as began to win important points. Andy won the match in five sets, last set being barely competitive.
Andy won his semi final match in straight sets and then went on to win the final. He looked much more in control of his emotions throughout the tournament. He believed in himself and his ability.
The final match was won comprehensively by Andy in straight sets, but going by the face of Ivan throughout the match, one would not be wrong to think otherwise. Ivan looked serious and hooked to the match as if his life was dependent on the outcome. This can be underlined by the fact that he clapped only twice throughout the match, but was moved to tears when Andy won the match. This shows that how connected he is to his player.
His love for Andy is well known. He has openly admitted that he appreciates the fact that the Scot works very hard, and he would be happy to coach him. Tomas Berdych approached Lendl, to coach him, Ivan refused saying that he doesn't have that much time available to commit to coach him. When Andy came calling, he gladly accepted the offer. He enjoys working with Andy, even Andy performs better with Ivan on his side.
Andy always had the talent and the game. He is arguably the best returner of serve right now on the tour. He has got good ground strokes and good movement. He has improved his serve and it's absolutely capable of garnering easy points when needed. The only chink in his armour is his temperament on court. With Ivan he looks more in control of himself.
But first, both of them have to conquer the team of Novak and Becker. Since Becker has joined Novak's team, the Serb has achieved stability and consistency of highest standards. He is still the man to beat. Andy seems to be the most apt man for this task.
Andy is now a father, too. He says that his perspective has changed after the birth of his daughter. He feels motivated to perform better. He appears more focussed. Ivan is himself an eight time Grand Slam champion.
With Ivan on his side, along with his motivation and desire, Andy can scale new heights in coming years. The next goal for Andy is to successfully defend his Olympic gold medal in Rio. Hoping the best for him and his fans.