Is there anybody out there who thinks Andy Murray made the wrong move by going back to Ivan Lendl?
I doubt it.
He was Murray’s coach during the most productive years of his career and is widely accepted to have been the key to transforming him from a grand slam nearly man to a grand slam winner.
And he may well be the man who helps Murray get his third major in a couple of days’ time.
Lendl seems to have this ability to bring out the best in him.
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard the phrase ‘the Lendl effect’.
Well, we’re hoping for a bit of a Lendl effect of our own over the next year-and-a-half. Or a Glenn Howard effect to be more precise.
This week we were able to confirm Glenn as our new tactical coach for next season. I couldn’t be happier about it.
When we first decided that we wanted to go in a new direction with our coach, he was the first choice that I came up with.
And, thanks to British Curling, we’ve been able to get him.
There are definitely a few of the characteristics Glenn will bring to our team that Lendl has brought to Murray.
Like Lendl, Glenn commands instant respect because of what he has achieved in his sport.
As a multiple world champion and Canadian champion you can’t argue with his credentials as a player.
Like Lendl, he’s a straight-talker.
Hopefully, like Lendl, he will be the missing piece of the jigsaw to help take us to our ultimate goal – winning gold at the Olympics.
And if, like Lendl, his appointment gets into the heads of our rivals then even better!
The main thing I was looking for was someone who is current.
Glenn is still competing at the top level and you don’t get much more current than that.
He’s coming over here in August to spend a week with us when we start training for the new season and will go to Sweden with us after that. Then, he should be able to link up with us at the grand slam events and, for the competitions he’s not at, our video analyst Kenny More will be keeping him up to date.
I’ve known Glenn for a while now and I can’t think of anyone better to be giving us a team-talk in a time-out near the end of an important match.
There are no guarantees in sport but I do genuinely believe that we’ve given ourselves the best possible chance to succeed with this appointment. The rest – as with Andy Murray – is up to us.
* As for Murray’s chances of winning Wimbledon, I think he’s going to do it.
The calmness and focus that Lendl brings to him was perfectly summed up at the start of the fifth set against Tsonga in the quarter-final when Murray got a grip of things when he needed to. In previous years, that was the sort of situation that would have got away from him.
If it is to be a Murray v Federer final, I think the fitness and form of the two players would point to a Murray win.
