Ivan Lendl is back working with Andy Murray and doing wonders. Yet Murray still has many more goals to accomplish if he is to go down as one of the greatest players of all time. Lendl, for a while, looked like he was doomed to be a few notches below the rest. Murray, we are not sure.
Lendl's big obstacle, of course, was Wimbledon. Apparently, he didn't take the tournament too seriously in his early years, even claiming he was allergic to grass in 1982, skipping the tournament (He didn't even play in the Australian Open in 1981 and 1982, it too, on grass) and hurting his chances of ever winning it. Lendl entered in 1983, getting to the semis. He would get as far as the finals twice, but never take home the big prize there. Sadly, Lendl never won a grand slam tournament (Despite also reaching the Australian Open finals in 1983).
But Lendl did win a Grand Slam on clay. And for good measure, the tournament Down Under moved away from the grass after 1987 (Lendl lost to hometown kid Pat Cash in the semifinals there that year, and was denied in the finals at the All England And Croquet Club later that year by him, for good measure) and Lendl found the new Rebound Ace surface to his liking, winning it in 1989 and 1990, and getting to a fourth Australian Open finals in 1991.
So Murray does have the coach to get him over his two biggest hurdles. Wimbledon, it should be noted, have been captured by Andy, twice so far. He also won the US Open in 2012, the same year he captured the gold at the Olympics. Lendl, of course, reached eight straight US Open Finals in his career. He was denied by some chaps named Connors and McEnroe from 1982-1984. He finally broke through the next year. Can Murray do the same at the French and Australian?
Murray has reached five Australian Open Finals and one French Open Final. Oh, right, this year he reached both before he won Wimbledon. Alas, that Wimbledon happened to be his first Grand Slam win in three years. Murray, you see, has some chap named Djokovic (Who he happens to be born one week before in 1987) to deal with. It has proven to be quite an obstacle.
That obstacle was removed by Sam Querrey this year at Wimbledon, although Murray beat Djokovic for his first Wimbledon (And Grand Slam for that matter) back in 2013. Djokovic is as much a problem for him as McEnroe, Connors, Wilander, and later Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg were for his coach during his prime.
Murray, for a while, seemed lost at the French. He'd have the odd good run there. Through 2013, he made only one semifinal, where Rafael Nadal took him out in three sets. Murray did not enter in '13, but the next year, began to slowly show signs (Like Lendl did at Wimbledon nearly 30 years earlier) of getting used to clay. Andy vaulted himself into the final four for the second straight time, appearance-wise. While he lost to Nadal again in straight sets, it seemed like he'd turned the page in his career on clay. No longer did Murray have feet of clay.
He sure proved that in 2015. Going into the French Open, he had no losses on clay. You read that right. He'd won in Munich. Then he pounded Nadal into submission in surprising straight sets manner in Madrid. He won his first two matches in Italy before he had to withdraw, resulting in walkover. But he was fit, healthy and ready for the French Open.
He lost just two sets through his first six matches, then battled Djokovic tough in the semis, eventually conceding it in five sets. Djokovic, however, did not win the title despite beating Nadal in the quarterfinals. Stan Wawrinka beat him in the finals. Murray, however, was better than Wawrinka on clay the next year.
Murray was caught looking by Djokovic. Looking, for another title in Madrid. But when the two met again in the finals in Italy, there were not defaults. No going down. And no losing a set. Murray had this one, his biggest title to date on clay. Djokovic, of course, got revenge at Roland Garros, but Murray had his first finals there. He'd reached three straight finals of three very important clay court tournaments. He'd win the next two tournaments he'd enter. But those were on grass.
So what about the Australian Open. The problem has been Djokovic, again. Although he lost the 2010 finals to Roger Federer, he seemed poised in many of the finals vs. his great rival from Serbia. But Novak has managed to find the way in the 2011, 2013, 2015, and this year's finals. In all, Murray is 0-5 to Djokovic Down Under. This is probably where having the new/old coach comes in handy, Andy.
Lendl, and a lot of his pals didn't even travel to Australia very often. Once they did, they soon mastered it. Lendl seemed a little lost until his late 20s. His pupil is now 29, but seemingly in his prime. Fitness, which Lendl was a master of, is the key down there, and Murray, to me, already had that. That wasn't why he was losing. Rather, I think, it is a mental block. Maybe it's just Djokovic being a tad better. The straight set finals this year was close, especially in the last two sets.
But Murray, by the end of 2016, will be without an Australian Open or French Open. Even if, mind you, he has another gold at the Olympics and another US Open. Lendl lost 11 Grand Slam Finals in his career. Murray is up to eight. But Ivan always seemed to rebound. If he'd lost a Wimbledon Finals, he'd win the US Open that year (As he did in 1986 and 1987 and Murray did in 2012). The way things are going now, I'm not sure Milos Raonic (Who didn't even manage to win a set off Murray at Wimbledon in the '16 finals, but did take two of the first three in Australia earlier this year) is quite ready to win on Rebound Ace. Will 2017 be Murray's year. Lendl the player did wonders for himself. Lendl the coach did wonders for Murray. Can they overcome those two hurdles next year? Or in the coming years? Lendl knows the anguish of dealing with disappointments of losing Grand Slam Finals. Couldn't you imagine him teaching Murray the same at this very important stage of the Scottsman's career? I can.
Lendl's big obstacle, of course, was Wimbledon. Apparently, he didn't take the tournament too seriously in his early years, even claiming he was allergic to grass in 1982, skipping the tournament (He didn't even play in the Australian Open in 1981 and 1982, it too, on grass) and hurting his chances of ever winning it. Lendl entered in 1983, getting to the semis. He would get as far as the finals twice, but never take home the big prize there. Sadly, Lendl never won a grand slam tournament (Despite also reaching the Australian Open finals in 1983).
But Lendl did win a Grand Slam on clay. And for good measure, the tournament Down Under moved away from the grass after 1987 (Lendl lost to hometown kid Pat Cash in the semifinals there that year, and was denied in the finals at the All England And Croquet Club later that year by him, for good measure) and Lendl found the new Rebound Ace surface to his liking, winning it in 1989 and 1990, and getting to a fourth Australian Open finals in 1991.
So Murray does have the coach to get him over his two biggest hurdles. Wimbledon, it should be noted, have been captured by Andy, twice so far. He also won the US Open in 2012, the same year he captured the gold at the Olympics. Lendl, of course, reached eight straight US Open Finals in his career. He was denied by some chaps named Connors and McEnroe from 1982-1984. He finally broke through the next year. Can Murray do the same at the French and Australian?
Murray has reached five Australian Open Finals and one French Open Final. Oh, right, this year he reached both before he won Wimbledon. Alas, that Wimbledon happened to be his first Grand Slam win in three years. Murray, you see, has some chap named Djokovic (Who he happens to be born one week before in 1987) to deal with. It has proven to be quite an obstacle.
That obstacle was removed by Sam Querrey this year at Wimbledon, although Murray beat Djokovic for his first Wimbledon (And Grand Slam for that matter) back in 2013. Djokovic is as much a problem for him as McEnroe, Connors, Wilander, and later Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg were for his coach during his prime.
Murray, for a while, seemed lost at the French. He'd have the odd good run there. Through 2013, he made only one semifinal, where Rafael Nadal took him out in three sets. Murray did not enter in '13, but the next year, began to slowly show signs (Like Lendl did at Wimbledon nearly 30 years earlier) of getting used to clay. Andy vaulted himself into the final four for the second straight time, appearance-wise. While he lost to Nadal again in straight sets, it seemed like he'd turned the page in his career on clay. No longer did Murray have feet of clay.
He sure proved that in 2015. Going into the French Open, he had no losses on clay. You read that right. He'd won in Munich. Then he pounded Nadal into submission in surprising straight sets manner in Madrid. He won his first two matches in Italy before he had to withdraw, resulting in walkover. But he was fit, healthy and ready for the French Open.
He lost just two sets through his first six matches, then battled Djokovic tough in the semis, eventually conceding it in five sets. Djokovic, however, did not win the title despite beating Nadal in the quarterfinals. Stan Wawrinka beat him in the finals. Murray, however, was better than Wawrinka on clay the next year.
Murray was caught looking by Djokovic. Looking, for another title in Madrid. But when the two met again in the finals in Italy, there were not defaults. No going down. And no losing a set. Murray had this one, his biggest title to date on clay. Djokovic, of course, got revenge at Roland Garros, but Murray had his first finals there. He'd reached three straight finals of three very important clay court tournaments. He'd win the next two tournaments he'd enter. But those were on grass.
So what about the Australian Open. The problem has been Djokovic, again. Although he lost the 2010 finals to Roger Federer, he seemed poised in many of the finals vs. his great rival from Serbia. But Novak has managed to find the way in the 2011, 2013, 2015, and this year's finals. In all, Murray is 0-5 to Djokovic Down Under. This is probably where having the new/old coach comes in handy, Andy.
Lendl, and a lot of his pals didn't even travel to Australia very often. Once they did, they soon mastered it. Lendl seemed a little lost until his late 20s. His pupil is now 29, but seemingly in his prime. Fitness, which Lendl was a master of, is the key down there, and Murray, to me, already had that. That wasn't why he was losing. Rather, I think, it is a mental block. Maybe it's just Djokovic being a tad better. The straight set finals this year was close, especially in the last two sets.
But Murray, by the end of 2016, will be without an Australian Open or French Open. Even if, mind you, he has another gold at the Olympics and another US Open. Lendl lost 11 Grand Slam Finals in his career. Murray is up to eight. But Ivan always seemed to rebound. If he'd lost a Wimbledon Finals, he'd win the US Open that year (As he did in 1986 and 1987 and Murray did in 2012). The way things are going now, I'm not sure Milos Raonic (Who didn't even manage to win a set off Murray at Wimbledon in the '16 finals, but did take two of the first three in Australia earlier this year) is quite ready to win on Rebound Ace. Will 2017 be Murray's year. Lendl the player did wonders for himself. Lendl the coach did wonders for Murray. Can they overcome those two hurdles next year? Or in the coming years? Lendl knows the anguish of dealing with disappointments of losing Grand Slam Finals. Couldn't you imagine him teaching Murray the same at this very important stage of the Scottsman's career? I can.
Brilliant! It would be interesting to know Lendl's record against all his rivals that you mentioned in the blog.
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