Can Lendl help Murray beat Federer, Nadal and Djoko?

One tournament into his new partnership with Ivan Lendl, Andy Murray has already won a title or if you like it better this way… is unbeaten in five matches this year. The Brisbane International title is a good beginning no doubt and a fine tune-up, but the Scot has Lendl in his corner because he wants to accomplish bigger things. By reaching at least the semi-finals of all the Grand Slams in 2011, Murray has established his credentials as a top quality player but now he needs somebody to help him push into the stratosphere occupied by Grand Slam champions. Murray is competing with players who are already legends – Federer and Nadal, and others like Novak Djokovic, who is on the fast track to becoming a legend himself. There are still others like fit-again Juan Martin Del Potro, who will be looking to establish themselves again. So unless the Scot continually evolves, he will be left behind. It is this quest that took him to Lendl – who in his prime was known as ‘Ivan the Terrible’ or simply as ‘The machine.’ As good as Murray is, he is also prone to suffering from lapses of concentration that make the matches entertaining for the spectators but really difficult for him. He’ll be cruising and then in the next minute, he’ll be trying to curse himself out of a rut. The mental imbalance affects his game and against the likes of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, the lack of consistency comes back to haunt him over and over again especially in Grand Slams, where five-setters are the norm. Have a look at his numbers against the top three players in the world: Against Novak Djokovic - 6-4, in the favour of the Serb Against Rafael Nadal - 13-5, in favour of the Spaniard Against Roger Federer - 6-8, in favour of the Scot Now, look at those numbers in a slightly different light – consider only the clashes in Grand Slams – not the three-setter crap but the five sets that test your concentration to the limit. Against Djokovic, he’s played just once in a Grand Slam (The Australian Open in 2011) and he lost. Against Federer, he’s played twice in the Majors and he lost both his matches. Against Nadal, Murray has won twice in 8 matches. One of the wins came way back in 2008 and the other came in the 2010 Australian Open when Nadal retired hurt. So that’s 11 matches against the top three and only two wins, one of which came by way of retirement. Also a clear sign that he needed something out of the ordinary to lift himself against them… Lendl might be it. [caption id=“attachment_176294” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Murray of Britain signs autographs after winning his men’s final match against Dolgopolov of Ukraine at the Brisbane International. Reuters”]  [/caption] “I hate to give credit to Lendl but (Murray) needed to do something out of the ordinary instead of going with the predictable re-tread,” John McEnroe, Lendl’s long-time rival, told reporters in Adelaide on Monday. “This is definitely something that was, to me, unexpected. I didn’t know that Lendl wanted to coach. He could bring something to the table, without a doubt.” “Lendl didn’t win a major until he was 24 and guess what? Murray is 24 right now,” McEnroe further added. “So that could provide something worth it for Murray, I’m going to be paying attention to that, see how it works out.” And whether, Murray likes it or not, to win a Grand Slam, he will most probably have to beat one of these three. And that’s where Lendl comes in. Murray’s record shows that he knows how to beat the top guys but he fails to mentally keep in together in the longer, tougher matches. And the hallmark of Lendl’s game was his mental resilience; his refusal to fade away in the face of more talented opposition; his grit and he will hope to imbibe all of that into Murray’s game too. The weedy, lanky, awkwardness of the adolescent Murray has long since been replaced by a physique that allows him to withstand the vigours of playing a Grand Slam without sacrificing speed of movement or raw power. Now, it’s time to get the mental preparation right as well. When the Australian Open begins on January 16, don’t expect Murray’s game to be radically different – don’t even expect Lendl to do that. The changes will all be in the head and the Scot will hope that can do the trick.