Lendl And Murray, The Winning Combination?

As the 2012 Australian Open gets underway on Monday, tennis fans all over the world will be wondering, is it finally time for Andy Murray to win a Grand Slam? Three times he’s got to a Grand Slam final and three times he’s blown it. Big time. Now he’s enlisted the help of all-time great Ivan Lendl, who lost his first four Grand Slam finals. A good idea? Well, Murray has already won one tournament this year, winning the 2012 Brisbane International, so he’s certainly in good form going in to the Australian Open.

So what can Lendl bring to the table? Ivan Lendl was an incredible athlete who trained to perfection. His consistency was astonishing as he got to eight consecutive US Open finals and still holds many records in the game. Not a fan of the net game, he failed to win Wimbledon, but won the other Grand Slams. Lendl had a frightening forehand and backhand combination which allowed him to be almost metronomic from the back of the court. He needs to get Murray out of his shell, show him when to attack and when to go on the defensive.

Most importantly, you don’t get the sort of record that Lendl has with a poor mental attitude. If you look at the greats of tennis, they all had a granite mentality and immense desire to win. If Lendl can get Andy Murray to become tougher mentally and if he can work on his strategy then Murray has the class to win any Grand Slam in 2012. Let’s see what happens, but for Murray fans, the signs are good.