Andy Murray returns to SW19 armed with the not-so-secret weapon that helped him land the trophy here three years ago – that is of course his coach Ivan Lendl.
Murray and Lendl had a successful two years and three months together between the start of 2012 and March 2014, during which the Scot won his only two grand slam titles to date.
Lendl was forced to part ways with Murray, citing his inability to commit to the necessary weeks of travel as the main reason but the pair have reunited two weeks ago, looking to revive their glory days together.
The start of their second stint as a team was a promising one with Murray winning Queens for a fifth time in his first week back with the eight-time major winner.
As Murray looks to become the first British man to win multiple Wimbledon titles since Fred Perry, who won the title at the All England Club from 1934-36, the Scot world No2 says reuniting with Lendl has given him an extra boost heading into this fortnight’s action.
“It gives a bit of extra confidence, because I know last time we worked together, it was very successful,” Murray told reporters at Wimbledon on Saturday, ahead of his first round on Tuesday against fellow Brit Liam Broady. “I trust in what he says.”
Murray, who split with his ex-coach Amelie Mauresmo prior to the French Open, has been working with Jamie Delgado and says Lendl has seemingly resumed his duties alongside the British coach.
“Genuinely it was easy, yeah. I mean, it was not difficult. He’s (Lendl) obviously very sort of clear in what he thinks and where my game needs to go if I want to keep improving and winning the major events again.
“Because I trust and believe in his opinion, it also helps when you get back on the court together. When we’ve chatted, it’s all gone very well.
“I believe my practice this week has been good. My team’s been happy with everything. If it wasn’t going well, probably wouldn’t have had a day off today.”
Also in a grand slam-winning drought is world No3 Roger Federer, who skipped the French Open with a back injury that followed knee surgery he had in February after the Australian Open.
The Swiss returned to action on the grass, losing in the Stuttgart and Halle semi-finals coming into Wimbledon, but says he is pleased with how his body has reacted to playing those matches.
“I think really for me was to get some confidence and some knowledge of where I was going to be in those seven matches in 10 days in Stuttgart and Halle,” said Federer, who is looking to win a record-extending eighth Wimbledon title and a first major since 2012.
“I think that was crucial for me going into Wimbledon knowing, okay, I passed that test, the body can take that amount of tennis, four matches back-to-back-to-back.
“It’s really, really important for your mind to know, then you also feel you can manage the five-setters. If you get a day off and all that stuff, it’s not a problem.”
A freak accident while giving his kids a bath after the Australian Open saw Federer suffer a torn meniscus in his knee that required surgery. For a man who prides himself on being healthy for the majority of his career, going under the knife was an experience the 34-year-old describes as “very, very sad”.
The back problems that followed made things tougher for him, and forced Federer to pull out of the French Open and end his remarkable record streak of competing at 65 consecutive majors. But the Swiss is keeping things in perspective.
“This back has won me 88 titles, so I’m okay with that back. It’s okay if it messes around with me sometimes,” said Federer, who commences his Wimbledon campaign on Monday against Argentinean Guido Pella.
“Clearly I’m not thinking of the title right away. It’s too far ahead. It’s too far. Regardless if even Novak (Djokovic) or Andy would be in the draw, and they are in the draw, they are the big favourites in my opinion. They’ve had such a great last six months, last few years. To me they are the ones to beat.”
Meanwhile, No4 seed Stan Wawrinka, has also bolstered his coaching staff with a new addition this grass court season, bringing in 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek to work alongside Magnus Norman.
Wawrinka says it was Norman’s idea to invite Krajicek to the table.
“We decided that maybe the grass was a good time to do it, not only because of the surface, but because I’m here in London for three, four weeks in the same place,” explained Wawrinka, who has never made it past the quarter-finals at Wimbledon – his least successful grand slam.
“You know you have time to practice, you can work on many things. The things we wanted to work on with Magnus was the thing that we thought that Richard can help with a little bit.
“I think it’s been going well so far. Richard has a lot of experience as a player. He won here. He used to be an amazing tennis player, really aggressive on the court, serve and volley a lot.”
Wawrinka faces Taylor Fritz in the opening round on Tuesday and could take on Juan Martin del Potro in the second round.
