This file photo taken on January 12, 2014 shows Britain’s Andy Murray (R) being watched by coach Ivan Lendl as he plays a shot during a practice session ahead of the 2014 Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne. British tennis great Andy Murray boosted his bid for a second Wimbledon title on Sunday by recalling to his team Ivan Lendl who coached him to his success on ‘home turf’ in 2013. AFP
LONDON — With Wimbledon coming up, Andy Murray is reuniting with former coach Ivan Lendl.
Lendl was Murray’s coach for two years until 2014. In that time, Murray won the U.S. Open in 2012 and Wimbledon the following year, becoming the first British man to win that title since Fred Perry in 1936.
Murray also won the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics, a tournament that was played at Wimbledon’s All England Club.
“I had two very successful years working with Ivan, he’s single-minded and knows what it takes to win the big events,” the 29-year-old Murray said in a statement on his website. “I’m looking forward to Ivan joining the team again and helping me try and reach my goals.”
According to the statement, Lendl will work with Murray’s full-time coach, Jamie Delgado, and existing performance team.
Lendl’s return comes a week after the second-ranked Murray lost to Novak Djokovic in the French Open final.
Since splitting with Lendl, Murray has lost three Grand Slam finals, all to Djokovic — the man he had beaten in his two Grand Slam successes. Overall, Murray has lost eight of his 10 Grand Slam final appearances.
Lendl and Murray parted in March 2014 after the eight-time Grand Slam champion decided he no longer wanted to spend 20-plus weeks a year travelling. Since their split, Lendl has been working with the U.S. Tennis Association Player Development program, a role he will continue.
“I enjoyed working with Andy in the past,” Lendl said. “Andy and I have always stayed in contact so it should be fun to be part of his team again.”
The partnership was announced ahead of the Queen’s Club tournament in London, an event Murray has won four times. The grass-court season culminates with Wimbledon, which begins on June 27.
Murray replaced Lendl with Amelie Mauresmo in 2014. Though the Frenchwoman helped him climb back up the rankings following back surgery, the partnership ended last month.