Andy Murray has confirmed that he will once again work with Ivan Lendl throughout the upcoming grass-court season.
The world No.2 has been without a main coach following the ending of his collaboration with Amelie Mauresmo in May. Since the separation, Murray has worked closely with Jamie Delgado as he reached his first French Open final.
The reunion of Murray and Lendl was unsurprising following the comments made by the British player last month. Shortly after his separation from Mauresmo, Murray was quoted in Rome saying that ‘he would love’ to once again work with the former world No.1.
“I’d love to work with Ivan but the time was the issue,” he said in May.
“If it can work, then I’d love to do it, but it has to work for both of us. People who have been No 1 in the world know the amount of time it takes to make an impact.”
The new partnership will last until the end of the Wimbledon Championships. It will be the first time that the two has worked together since 2014. Speaking about his decision to hire Lendl, Murray said in a statement he hopes to have similar success to their previous years together.
‘I had two very successful years working with Ivan, he’s single minded and knows what it takes to win the big events. I’m looking forward to Ivan joining the team again and helping me try and reach my goals.” The 29-year-old said.
56-year-old Lendl has also spoken of his delight to once against work with Murray. In recent times the Czech has been working with teenagers in America as part of the U.S. Tennis Association’s player-development program.
“I enjoyed working with Andy in the past. Andy and I have always stayed in contact so it should be fun to be part of his team again.” Lendl said.
Murray’s biggest success of his career has occurred under the watchful eye on Lendl. During their two-year stint between 2012-2014, he won two grand slam titles, four ATP titles (Queens, Miami and Brisbane twice) and an Olympic gold medal. The partnership ended because Lendl was having difficulty dedicating enough time to work as a coach.
The announcement comes on the eve of Murray’s next tournament, the Aegon Championships. This year Murray is bidding to successfully defend his title at the queen’s club and become the first player in history to win the title on five separate occasions.
