Andy Murray says chewed over split with Ivan Lendl over dinner
Andy Murray will try to defend his Sony Open title without coach Ivan Lendl in his corner starting on Friday after the two abruptly ended their two-year partnership in a Miami restaurant.
|Last Updated: Mar 21, 2014, 09:03 AM IST|Source: Reuters
Miami: Andy Murray will try to defend his Sony Open title without coach Ivan Lendl in his corner starting on Friday after the two abruptly ended their two-year partnership in a Miami restaurant.
Murray, who will face Australian Matthew Ebden after receiving a first-round bye, offered few clues as to why he and Lendl had split when addressing a news conference on Thursday, although he reiterated that it had been a mutual decision.
"We sat down Saturday evening. We went and had dinner," said Murray. "We chatted for an hour about other stuff, and then we chatted about us moving forward," Murray, who has struggled for form since returning from back surgery, said.
"That wasn`t something that happened after Indian Wells. We planned to sit down when I got to Miami to discuss moving forward. It wasn`t going to happen.
"The best thing to do was just to move on."
Scot Murray had been tennis`s nearly man until hiring former world number one Lendl in December 2011, losing in his first four grand slam finals.
In his first year with Lendl in his corner Murray reached his first Wimbledon final, won the 2012 Olympic gold medal and then became Britain`s first male grand slam champion for 76 years by triumphing at the U.S. Open against Novak Djokovic.
Last year he ended Britain`s 77-year wait for a men`s singles champion at Wimbledon, again beating Djokovic.
"It`s a tough one for me because he`s been a big part of my life," Murray said. "He`s been a big part of my team. He made a huge difference to my tennis."
BACK SURGERY
Murray has not won a title since Wimbledon, although he missed the final two months of last season because of back surgery. He was beaten by Roger Federer in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open and last week in Indian Wells fell in the fourth round to big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic.
Having gone long stretches of his career without a coach, Murray will take some time to consider his next move, although he said replacing Lendl would be tough.
"The thing that he was brought in to do was to help me get over the line in the big events, and that`s what he did," said Murray. "My game was kind of there. It was the mental side in dealing with pressure situations that he was there to help with.
"That was the biggest influence he had on my game.
"So very hard person to replace, you know. You can`t replace that sort of experience easily."
When Murray and Lendl joined forces it seemed to spark a trend of players hiring former greats with Djokovic turning to Boris Becker, Federer hooking up with Stefan Edberg and Maria Sharapova giving Jimmy Connors a brief try.
Murray offered no hint as to whether he might turn to a former playing great again for inspiration and guidance, only that for the moment he planned to enjoy his time off the leash.
"It`s not going to change drastically the next few weeks," said Murray. "But I`m finished with Davis Cup, then I will sit down and have a think what I want to do with that situation and how I want to move forward with it.
"Sometimes being a little bit freer on the court can help for a few weeks.
"I think in the long term it`s better to have, you know, someone there and having a structure and a plan as to how you`re going to move forward and how you`re going to improve.
"Certainly for a few weeks it can help sometimes."
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.