How Ivan Lendl can help Zverev’s game
Alexander Zverev announced on his Instagram page that Ivan Lendl would be joining his team as a coach. The pair had earlier worked on a trial basis in Miami for the Citi Open in Washington. With the US Open just around the corner, it’ll be interesting to see if this makes a difference in his mental fortitude, passive game during crucial moments and his forehand, which is prone to collapse.
There were several rumours about this partnership and for a significant amount of time as well. It’s official now, and it might be a mutually beneficial partnership.
What could this mean for Zverev?
For Zverev, Lendl might smooth out the kinks in his game, namely his forehand which seems to break down during key moments in matches, his mental game, which breaks down worse than his forehand during key moments (2 bagels in the 5th set of his slam losses this year is pretty damning) and his passivity, which could be one of the reasons why Zverev hasn’t performed well in slams so far. This was especially evident during the French Open, where Zverev played very passively (due to which he played 3 five setters in a row). In comparison, he played his aggressive best in Madrid where he didn’t lose a set nor face a break point.
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What about Lendl?
Lendl’s legacy as a coach is so far vested in the remarkable transformation of Andy Murray’s game. Under his guidance, Murray went on to win all the three slams he currently has won. He improved Murray’s mental game, worked on his forehand, especially his down the line forehand. Fitness was one area where Lendl also improved Murray’s game.
After all, Lendl was known for being one of the fittest players on tour. His approach has largely been lauded as forward thinking and is considered to have changed the face of tennis (think fitness, mentality towards the sport, equipment: everything).
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Zverev is a young, once in a generation talent who has a long way to go with regards to his game, fitness, mentality, accomplishments and is one of the most promising players on tour right now. Lendl will benefit hugely if Zverev goes on to win/dominate in the bigger tournaments (particularly slams). Whether or not that’ll happen is for us to see in the future. However, expectations are ripe and rightfully so. This could be one of the best coach-player match-ups in this generation.