Synopsis
The first book about Ivan Lendl, the man who turned Andy Murray from a perennial runner-up into the first British Wimbledon champion for 76 years. Who is Ivan Lendl and How did he turn Andy Murray, a four-time finalist - into the first British winner of Wimbledon in over 70 years? Mark Hodgkinson goes in search of Lendl 'the man behind the iron curtain' - his brutally tough childhood in communist Czechoslovakia, who defected to the US to pursue his dream of becoming a tennis legend. Competing against the loud-mouths of McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, who despised his ruthlessly scientific approach to the game, he lost four major finals before cracking McEnroe to go on to win 8 major titles., When Andy Murray broke the news in March 2014 that he was parting company with Ivan Lendl it caused shock waves across the world. In just over two years Lendl had turned Murray from a perennial runner-up into the most successful British tennis player since Fred Perry - a winner of the US Open, Olympic Gold and Wimbledon Champion. However, when Murray - a 4 times Grand Slam finalist - announced, in 2011, that he was teaming up with the man they called the 'chokoslovakian' for the number of times he had lost a Slam final, there was widespread consensus that whoever had made the decision was either a genius or taking a huge gamble. Lendl, who had fled from behind the Iron Curtain at the height of the Cold War to move to America in order to pursue his tennis dreams, was everything that his contemporaries McEnroe, Becker, Connors were not. And yet, after falling at the final hurdle 4 times, he went on to win 8 Grand Slams. But there was one title missing Wimbledon. And he was obsessed by it. So what did Lendl and Murray see in each other that no one else did? What did Lendl do to turn Murray from a perennial runner-up to US Open Champion and the first Briton to lift the Wimbledon trophy in 77 years? Going back to Lendl's roots and through extensive interviews and analysis of the Murray-Lendl axis seen at close quarters, Mark Hodgkinson reveals the magic formula that Lendl used to turn Murray into a champion. In so doing he lifts the lid on their relationship, and how it came to an end, which made this left-field combination the most successful in British tennis history., When Andy Murray broke the news in March 2014 that he was parting company with Ivan Lendl it caused shock waves across the world. In just over two years Lendl had turned Murray from a perennial runner-up into the most successful British tennis player since Fred Perry - a winner of the US Open, Olympic Gold and Wimbledon Champion. However, when Murray - a 4 times Grand Slam finalist - announced, in 2011, that he was teaming up with the man they called the 'chokoslovakian' for the number of times he had lost a Slam final, there wasÿwidespread consensus that whoever had made the decision was either a genius or taking a huge gamble. Lendl, who had fled from behind the Iron Curtain at the height of the Cold War to move to America in order to pursue his tennis dreams, was everything that his contemporaries - McEnroe, Becker, Connors - were not. ÿAnd yet, after falling at the final hurdle 4 times, he went on to win 8 Grand Slams. But there was one title missing - Wimbledon. And he was obsessed by it. So what did Lendl and Murray see in each other that no one else did? What did Lendl do to turn Murray from a perennial runner-up to US Open Champion and the first Briton to lift the Wimbledon trophy in 77 years? Going back to Lendl's roots and through extensive interviews and analysis of the Murray-Lendl axis seen at close quarters, Mark Hodgkinson reveals the magic formula that Lendl used to turn Murray into a champion.ÿIn so doing he lifts the lid on their relationship, and how it came to an end, which made this left-field combination the most successful in British tennis history., When Andy Murray broke the news in March 2014 that he was parting company with Ivan Lendl it caused shock waves across the world. In just over two years Lendl had turned Murray from a perennial runner-up into the most successful British tennis player since Fred Perry - a winner of the US Open, Olympic Gold and Wimbledon Champion. However, when Murray - a 4 times Grand Slam finalist - announced, in 2011, that he was teaming up with the man they called the 'chokoslovakian' for the number of times he had lost a Slam final, there wasywidespread consensus that whoever had made the decision was either a genius or taking a huge gamble. Lendl, who had fled from behind the Iron Curtain at the height of the Cold War to move to America in order to pursue his tennis dreams, was everything that his contemporaries - McEnroe, Becker, Connors - were not. yAnd yet, after falling at the final hurdle 4 times, he went on to win 8 Grand Slams. But there was one title missing - Wimbledon. And he was obsessed by it. So what did Lendl and Murray see in each other that no one else did? What did Lendl do to turn Murray from a perennial runner-up to US Open Champion and the first Briton to lift the Wimbledon trophy in 77 years? Going back to Lendl's roots and through extensive interviews and analysis of the Murray-Lendl axis seen at close quarters, Mark Hodgkinson reveals the magic formula that Lendl used to turn Murray into a champion.yIn so doing he lifts the lid on their relationship, and how it came to an end, which made this left-field combination the most successful in British tennis history.
