Ivan Lendl on Andy Murray's fitness level ahead of Australian Open 2023: "He's there, he's ready"
Andy Murray is fit enough to be able to make a big impact in 2023, believes his coach and former World No. 1, Ivan Lendl. After their recent pre-season training schedule in Boca Raton, Lendl was left quite confident about Murray's motivation to win a big tournament next season.
Lendl and Murray are currently in their third term together as coach and player, which began in March 2022. Many of Murray's biggest successes on tour have come with Lendl by his side, including all three of his Grand Slam titles, two Olympic Gold medals, and his ascent to the World No. 1 ranking.
Things have been tough for Murray since his comeback from multiple hip injuries, given his lofty standards, but Lendl believes the Briton tennis great is "there" and "ready" ahead of the 2023 Australian Open.
"He's there, he's ready," Lendl said on The Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast.
The eight-time Grand Slam singles champion further stated that he saw no signs of Andy Murray preparing for a "farewell tour" during their pre-season training regimen in Boca Raton.
"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 added.
Andy Murray must avoid long battles early in Grand Slams, believes coach Ivan Lendl
While Ivan Lendl feels Andy Murray is where he wants to be in terms of fitness ahead of the Australian Open, he also highlighted that the Brit's hopes of Grand Slam success will also depend on how comfortably he can get through matches in the early rounds of the Majors.
The Czech–American believes even the fittest players in the world will struggle a lot in the second week of a Grand Slam tournament if they are involved in multiple lengthy five-set matches in the opening week.
"It depends on how the matches go (at the Grand Slams)," Lendl said on the same. "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."
Picking up from where he left off in 2022, Murray has something good to build on after ending the season inside the Top 50 for the first time since his comeback. The 35-year-old will start his 2023 season at the Adelaide International before bidding for the Australian Open.