"Look at Nadal in Turin, he was passive and they just killed him" - Ivan Lendl on tennis becoming more aggressive and making Andy Murray adapt to it
Andy Murray's coach and former eight-time Grand Slam champion Ivan Lendl revealed that the Brit has tried to become more aggressive in his game since returning from injury.
Andy Murray had a respectable 2022 season which saw him finish in the Top 50 for the first time since his return to the tour from injuries.
On the Craig Shapiro Podcast, the American mentioned that given the former Wimbledon champion's age, being aggressive and playing shorter matches will only help him.
"Well, he's trying to be more aggressive but that's not necessarily because of the injury, there are many other reasons for it," said Lendl. "The game has moved forward. You need to be more aggressive these days if you just can't stay back. Look at Rafa at the Torino event, where he was passive and they just killed him.
Lendl also spoke about how being aggressive can be a successful strategy for the 35-year-old.
"You can't just let the guys push you around the court. Then you have what I said earlier, if you are playing too many five-set matches, you will run on empty and somebody will beat you. So you can't do that. By being more aggressive, you save energy as well.
He added,
"Of course, at 35 it doesn't hurt if the matches are 45 minutes shorter. But it's not only the hip there are a lot of factors why people and not only Andy are more aggressive these days."
"He's there, he's ready" - Ivan Lendl on Andy Murray's preparations for the Australian Open 2023
In the same podcast, Lendl mentioned that Andy Murray was "ready" fitness-wise to compete at the upcoming Australian Open in January.
"He's there, he's ready," Lendl said.
Lendl further revealed that he has seen no signs of 2023 being a "farewell tour" for the three-time Grand Slam champion.
"It's him who has to say what he's going to do, but I worked with him for 20 days, late November until December 10th in Boca and I saw zero signs that it's a farewell tour. I wouldn't be there if it was," Lendl said.
He also pointing out that even the fittest guys can struggle after playing too many long matches.
"You can be the fittest guy on tour and if you play the first three matches over five hours, five sets each, and then you go into the Round of 16 against a rested guy, at some point that tank is going to empty," added Lendl.