Andy Murray has been backed to reach another Grand Slam semi final after hiring Ivan Lendl as coach for the third time.
In 2012 Murray, 34, captured his first Slam title when he beat Rafael Nadal in the final if the US Open. A year later he won his maiden Wimbledon crown, a title he then reclaimed in 2016.
All three of those successes came under the guidance of Czech legend Lendl, himself a winner of the US, French, and Australian Opens as a player. The British tennis great also won his two Olympic gold medals under Lendl's tutelage at London 2012 and Rio 2016.
The pair's last stint together ended in 2017, ironically the same year that the former world no 1 reached a major semi final when he was beaten by Stan Wawrinka at Roland Garros.
Murray has since endured an injury plagued period, undergoing hip resurfacing surgery which involved attaching a metal cap to the ball in the hip. Since returning he has shown flashes of his best form, and in January ended a 27-month wait to appear in an ATP event final when he lost to Russia's Aslan Karatsev in the Sydney Tennis Classic.
However, after crashing out of the second round of the Australian Open to Taro Daniel, he appeared to cast doubt on his future. Murray admitted that the prospect of early Grand Slam exits didn't 'excite him' in the latter stages of his career.
Patrick Mouratoglou, the coach of Serena Williams, has admitted his surprise at the development to Sky Sports . He said: "I was very surprised that Andy and Ivan started to work together again simply because they broke up two times already."
However, Mouratoglou believes the move is a shrewd one from Murray, who he believes can now start featuring in the second week of Grand Slam events again. "I don't feel like Andy's goal is to win a Grand Slam because I don't think he can see himself doing that at the moment but to do the best he can," added the Frenchman.
"He has always been like this throughout his career, with this mindset, to do the best he can. I think it's great and I can completely imagine him reaching a quarters or a semis of a Grand Slam, why not? And if he does, then everything is possible."
Murray and Lendl are expected to spend over a month together in the USA after the Miami Open on an extended training block, to help prepare for the grass season.
And Mouratoglou believes that regardless of what happens in the future, Murray should be hailed for his achievements given the era he played in. "What Andy is doing is super-inspiring but he's always been inspiring," he said.
"Winning three Grand Slams at a time when those three guys are playing - Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic - it's incredible!"
