British tennis great Andy Murray boosted his bid for a second Wimbledon title on Sunday by recalling to his team Ivan Lendl, who coached him to his success on 'home turf' in 2013.
The 29-year-old Scot -- who also won the 2012 US Open and Olympic gold in the same year under Lendl's aegis -- revealed the news of his reunion with the former Czech world number one in a statement.
"I had two very successful years working with Ivan, he's single-minded and knows what it takes to win the big events," said Murray.
"I'm looking forward to Ivan joining the team again and helping me try and reach my goals."
Lendl's first target will be this week's key Wimbledon lead-up event at Queen's Club, where Murray is bidding for a record fifth singles title.
"I enjoyed working with Andy in the past," said Lendl.
"Andy and I have always stayed in contact so it should be fun to be part of his team again," added the 56-year-old.
Lendl originally left Murray's employ after two years in 2014 because he had had enough of the incessant travelling.
Murray eventually replaced eight-time Grand Slam singles champion Lendl -- for whom Wimbledon was the only Grand Slam title to elude him, losing in two finals -- with former French female star Amelie Mauresmo.
However, whilst he regained his number two spot in the world rankings, he failed to add to his Grand Slam trophy haul and split from her earlier this year.
Since then he had relied on former British Davis Cup player Jamie Delgado, and he subsequently became the first British player to reach the French Open final since 1937, beating defending champion Stan Wawrinka in the semi-finals.
- Intimate knowledge -
Yet, despite winning the first set he went down to a four set defeat to world number one Novak Djokovic.
Murray and Lendl first made contact over a potential reunion during the French Open and the Czech, who had previously suggested his dislike of flying was a major reason to step away from full-time coaching, was surprisingly open to a return.
Lendl has had both his hips replaced since parting ways with Murray and had been working with some of America's top young players.
The reunited duo have reportedly agreed on a schedule that will see them work together for around 20 weeks a year, including all the Grand Slams, some Masters 1000 events and key training periods.
Murray hopes the partnership will prove longer lasting and just as successful this time.
"Well hopefully it will be for a long time, from my side," Murray said.
"He's coming over, he'll be here for the tournament and it's good for him to spend a bit of time with the rest of the team as well to see how things work out.
"But provided everything's good, it will hopefully go on for a long time. "
Lendl's intimate knowledge of exactly what it takes to win Grand Slams was key to Murray's success when they last worked together and, after watching German legend Boris Becker have a similar impact on Djokovic, he is confident the Czech will again prove an invaluable presence.
"I think the most successful period of my career was while I was working with Ivan. I know what he can offer," Murray said.
"The experiences he had I think psychologically he helped me in the major competitions and they're obviously the events I'm trying to win and am competing for.
"I hope he can bring that same experience and those same benefits that he did last time."
AFP
Sun Jun 12 2016
Lendl's (pic) first target will be this week's key Wimbledon lead-up event at Queen's Club, where Murray is bidding for a record fifth singles title. - AFP photo
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