FORMER PLAYERS BACK IN FASHION

The top male tennis players in the world have been appointing some ex-players as their head coaches these days. This trend was started by Andy Murray during the 2012 season when he secured the services of Ivan Lendl, the former American player who won a total of 8 Grand Slams during his career.

The no. 1 player in the world, Novak Djokovic, followed his footsteps a few days back as he announced that one of the all time German greats Boris Becker would be his coach for the upcoming season. The Swiss superstar, Roger Federer, who has been struggling with his form in recent times has already been spending time with Stefan Edberg and  trying to regain his old charm back. Edberg is a former Swedish player and also Federer’s role model.

Lendl and Becker were the arch rivals during their playing days. There were 22 games played between these two out of which Lendl had won 12, while, Becker had won 10. But, whenever these two players met in the final of a Grand Slam, it was always Becker who came on top. Now, with these two guys taking charge as the coaches of the two top players in the world, there have been talks that the old rivalry might get renewed.

When Murray was asked about the top players appointing ex-greats as their coaches, he said, “It’s hard to say at the moment if it’s turning into a trend, but, it’s actually nice. The guys like Boris and Ivan who has got huge amount of experience can help you a lot.”

The latter half of the last season wasn’t that good for Murray, but, he would certainly want to put that behind him and start the new season on a fresh note.