When Andy Murray hooked up with Ivan Lendl seven years ago, he seemed convinced that, after several experiments with other coaches, he and old Rock Jaw would be together for the rest of his career. Within a year, he had broken through for an Olympic gold medal and his first grand slam title at the US Open. Two Wimbledon titles would follow – then injury, struggle and no little angst.
When Murray arrived this week in New York to prepare for the US Open, the last major of the season, he may have experienced a shiver of regret, or nostalgia maybe, when he learned Lendl had come out of retirement to tend to the development of the exciting young German Alexander Zverev. Murray would hardly be human if he did not at least wonder how it may have panned out during his own difficult stretches had Lendl not walked away – twice.
Lendl and Murray long ago put their emotional split to one side. The coach went off to play a lot of golf and the player found contentment with his old friend, Jamie Delgado, who has bolstered his long‑time back‑up team. He has new challenges now. Murray is 31, still managing the drawn out recovery of his chronic hip pain and looking up the rankings rather than down, at 378 in the world, as the 21-year-old Zverev consolidates his position near the top of the game at No 4.
Zverev has promised a lot – three Masters titles – without grabbing the biggest prize but he has the game to scare everyone in the field. It would be a disappointment if he did not reach the final weekend; for Murray, getting into the second week would be a considerable achievement.
Were the unseeded Murray and fancied Zverev to meet in the first round, it would be a collision even more electric than when the former world No 1 beat Tomas Berdych in the 2015 Australian Open semi-final. That night his wife, Kim, swore dutifully in his defence as Murray’s former mentor, Dani Vallverdu, sat in the Czech’s box. What added spice to the occasion was the fact Berdych had tapped up Lendl to coach him, only to be turned down.
So much has changed since then for all of them. Berdych (who made up with Murray) is not here this year, out injured again at the tail end of his career. Murray, places below Dan Evans in the rankings, is flying so far under the radar that Roger Federer did not mention the three-times grand slam champion when discussing whom he regarded as the main contenders.
As Federer sees it in the first grand slam tournament featuring the big four since Wimbledon 2017, the defending champion and No 1 seed Rafael Nadal, and the former champion Novak Djokovic, who beat the Swiss in the Cincinnati Open final, are the two to beat. He does not sound that confident about his own game, which soared and dipped during the warm-up tournament before his bankable return of serve collapsed against Djokovic on Sunday.
Nor does Djokovic, it seems, saying later of Federer: “Having not played Roger for over two years was really strange. He had it seems like a difficult time [moving] … He didn’t play at his best but I still had to earn the victory.” After the barb, the soothing, compulsory balm of respect.
Murray returns to New York an almost invisible champion, which may be the way he prefers it. Since his return from injury this summer, he has struggled to assert himself. When he looked to have conquered his own misgivings about his fitness, he then faltered on the eve of Wimbledon, unconvinced he could survive a five-set match.
He still is not sure if he can – which is why he should have played there, although he is convinced he made the right decision. After winning a few matches on grass, Murray has had tough examinations in Washington – where he withdrew after winning three matches – and in Cincinnati, where Lucas Pouille was too good for him in the first round.
Djokovic, who limped away from Wimbledon with Murray in the quarter-finals in 2017, has been considerably rejuvenated since winning there on his return this summer, then in Cincinnati. When Nadal, perennially worried about his knees and hip, decided to skip Cincinnati to get ready for Flushing Meadows he sent out a signal of doubt; Djokovic will surely start favourite.
The British have not had many successes in New York since they beat George Washington in 1776, and this year may be little different. Kyle Edmund is the only seed, at 16. Johanna Konta, who has fallen from four in the world a year ago to 46, is the only other British player in the tournament by right – and she pulled out of the Connecticut Open this week with a virus.
Edmund, though, is on an upswing. Bjorn Borg, no less, celebrated his addition to Team Europe for the three-day Laver Cup in Chicago in late September with some glowing words. “Kyle is an outstanding young player who’s achieved some great results and big wins over top players,” he said. “I’m impressed with his meticulous and methodical approach to the sport and believe he will be a great fit with the team.”
Europe, with Federer, Djokovic and Edmund on board, should be too strong for the weirdly named Team World – even without Nadal.
The Spaniard declared as long ago as June he was making the Davis Cup semi-final against France the week before a priority over the fledgling Laver Cup, the Ryder Cup-style brainchild of Federer in honour of Rod Laver.
This is the face of modern tennis towards the end of an intriguing summer: individuals torn between personal glory (and money) and national obligations. With the ATP’s own team competition slated to start in 2020, it will only become more complicated.
