‘Bulldog’ Andy Murray can still ‘achieve amazing things,’ coach Ivan Lendl believes

A “pleasantly surprised” Ivan Lendl thinks Andy Murray can still compete with the best and is “happy to help” guide the Brit in his bid to return to his best levels.

Last month, three-time Grand Slam ace Andy Murray announced that he would be reuniting with former coach Ivan Lendl for a third spell.

There had been rumours that Murray was going to appoint 20-time Slam legend Novak Djokovic’s former coach Marian Vajda, but Murray decided to opt for someone tried-and-tested.

Under the guidance of eight-time Slam great Lendl, Murray won all three of his Grand Slam titles, both of his Olympic gold medals, reached the World number one position and finished as the Year-End number one in 2016.

However, Murray and Lendl recognise that the goals in their third stint together will be much different to their previous aspirations. This is because Murray looks to be entering the latter stages of his career after staging an impressive comeback from a second hip surgery.

Speaking to reporters, Lendl said “all these guys have incredible determination. They are just like bulldogs and they want to do things because it hasn’t been done before.

“If they set their mind to it, and they all do, then they can achieve amazing things. If I read it correctly, Rafa said [in November] he wasn’t even sure he’s going to be able to play again. He goes and wins the Australian Open, so, yes, these guys can do it.”

Lendl was also asked whether he was surprised to receive Murray’s call and was asked whether he would have returned to the tour for any other players.

To which the Czech great replied “a little bit and … no. Andy said ‘look, I don’t know how much time I have left and I want to go with people [where] I know what I’m going to get.’ That makes perfect sense, right?

“Depends who that would be. But we have quite a long history with good results and a lot of good times. He really needs help and I’m happy to do that.”

Speaking after a few days of training, Lendl said “I didn’t know what to expect. But yet I was surprised pleasantly.

“I think Andy has been in a good place. Now that he and the staff feels that the hip is doing really well, you can start re-focusing on the tennis stuff. That will be our goal over the next month.”

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