Andy Murray's 'last dance' with coach Ivan Lendl fuelled by belief he can still win titles, says Alex Corretja
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Updated 08/03/2022 at 13:53 GMT
Andy Murray and Ivan Lendl are getting back together again. Lendl will be joining Murray's coaching team for a third time after previously helping him to win three Grand Slam titles, two Olympic gold medals and reach world No.1. Seven-time Grand Slam champion Justine Henin and two-time French Open finalist Alex Corretja have given their thoughts on the reunion and how successful it could be.
Murray's 'last dance' with Lendl fuelled by belief he can still win, says Corretja
Alex Corretja believes Andy Murray’s decision to reunite for a “last dance” with Ivan Lendl shows he still thinks he can be a “champion” again.
Murray has enjoyed most of the best moments of his career with Lendl in his coaching team, winning all three of his Grand Slam titles, two Olympic gold medals, and reaching world No.1 together.
Lendl will not be with Murray for the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells this week but could join up with him at the upcoming Miami Open.
"My first reaction was that he still believes that he can be a champion," two-time French Open finalist Corretja told Eurosport.
"Because otherwise you don't go back with your former coach, the one with which you achieved the most important tournament wins of your career.
“I was very pleased, I was very happy and I was very surprised I have to say. I think they believe in each other, both of them. Andy goes back to his old coach because he feels that ‘OK, he's the one that gave me everything I know and he is the one that took everything I had inside’.
"And of course he wants to go there because he feels that Ivan gets the best out of his tennis, and Ivan accepting the role is because probably talking to Andy, he still feels that he's got some desire to still achieve something important. Otherwise I don't see Lendl taking the plane to go back to a tournament if he doesn't feel that he can help Andy to achieve important things.
“I'm not saying to keep maybe a high level for a long time but maybe to just make the last dance for Andy and that's why probably he's motivated about it."
Murray has received a wild card for the first Masters 1000 events of the season in Indian Wells and Miami. After playing both he will skip the clay season and will instead spend time with Lendl on a training block in Florida.
“For me, the most important thing is respect," added Corretja. "Andy respects him so much. He knows Andy very well, he knows how to deal with Andy. He knows not to react to Andy's movements or strange things on the court and he's going bring him some belief, some faith that he can still do it again. And if you have someone next to you that brings you all this calmness.
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“I think it's very important to just give your best and from what I saw with Andy in the last few months, I must say that the level of his tennis is still high."
After some positive signs in the second half of last year, Murray made the final of the Sydney International at the start of 2022.
But since then he hasn’t won more than one match at any of the other four tournaments he has played and he has also cut a frustrated figure at times, bemoaning not having “consistent messages” from his coaching team.
Corretja says his concern with Murray is whether physically he can maintain a high standard long enough to win a tournament again.
"Probably the only question is how can he keep the level for five, six, seven matches in a tournament. That's the only concern that I have about him, about physically, not mentally, because I think he's ready. Probably his tennis is already there as well. But physically that's a question mark. And if Ivan can work with him properly, I think he can still got some juice out of the tank.
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'Lendl and Murray working together again is a surprise' - Henin
“When you had so much success with a coach then when you are in a bad moment, you always feel inside your heart, I'm going call this guy because he knows me. And that's what I feel Andy feels comfortable with Lendl because he knows he's not going to have any doubts about himself, he's not going to doubt Andy, he's just going feel like ‘OK, let's go, listen to me and you're going do whatever I say. And if you do that, maybe we have a chance’.
"Andy maybe feels he's the only one that I will go for whatever he said, I will do it. And this is very important as a coach and as a player."
Murray, who is ranked No.88 in the world, worked with Lendl from 2012 to 2014 and 2016 to 2017.
Seven-time Grand Slam champion Justine Henin says she has a “lot of respect” for Murray’s desire to keep pushing himself.
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Ivan Lendl (L) and Andy Murray won Wimbledon twice together
Image credit: Getty Images
“Lendl and Murray working together again is a surprise, even though they have worked together well in the past,” Henin told Eurosport.
“I have a lot of respect for the fact that Andy Murray keeps looking for ways to come back. You can feel there’s still this pleasure to be there, this desire to continue to push yourself, to go forward.
“Will it work? It depends on the goals he sets. From personal experience, I think it’s the pleasure of the human adventure too; being able to surround yourself with the right people and to feel the right moment.
“If Murray comes back to Lendl and Lendl comes back to him it’s because between them there are extremely positive things that allow them both to continue to move forward and grow.”
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