Lendl Leaves Zverev

Doctor/Lawyer Red Devil

Talk Tennis Guru
Mr Ivan has decided that golf is his top priority.

zverevausopen210110_6.png
 

haqq777

Legend
I like Lendl. Did a magnificent job with Murray. But not sure what he brought to the table for Zverev.

Sasha had 3 Masters titles before Lendl joined (and none since) and he was already playing well enough so I'm even unsure of Lendl's contribution to his WTF title too, in all honesty. I heard he couldn't join Zverev at RG because he had clay allergies (leading Johnny Mac to joke that Lendl had no allergies when he beat Mac). I think Lendl doesn't want to even try with Zverev anymore.

I saw this partnership doomed a long time back. Their personalities are very different. It's better they have parted ways.
 

haqq777

Legend
AZ always said he dreamed of BB as his coach.

Sent from my LG-LS993 using Tapatalk
Interestingly enough, I saw Becker sitting in his box cheering him on versus Delbonis today at Hamburg. Could just be the German support factor for Zverev as well. But still. Pretty interesting.
 
Lendl also owns 8 majors and 270 weeks at #1. What does Zverev own in comparison to that? :cool:

That is irrelevant to Sasha, who won't live off of Lendl's past achievements. A coach is as good as his last results, and if they are not there the responsibility is as much his as is that of the player (if not more). Otherwise every legend of the game that starts coaching will have indefinite credit, because he has won as a player. When Edberg went away I didn't hear anyone lambasting Federer for his "attitude" yet it was clear that Edberg didn't do the job he was hired for. Lendl struck me as a coach that can add a little bit of something missing to push an already good player that little bit that will get him the biggest trophy, but apparently he is not good with players that have serious work in front of them.

Even when it wasn't the best thing from Sasha, what he said about Lendl at his training is absolutely unacceptable. I take it it wasn't a single occurrence either, so, Ivan can discuss his golf in more suitable environment now.

:cool:
 
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Tshooter

G.O.A.T.
Lendl also owns 8 majors and 270 weeks at #1. What does Zverev own in comparison to that? :cool:

The Bio may get an introduction to and possibly the job with a hot prospect but it doesn't substitute for the actual work of coaching.

Do you credit Lendl with any of Murray's success ? What about Zed's lack of progress ? Does it go both ways or is it heads Lendl wins and tales someone else loses ?
 

TnsGuru

Professional
Boris Becker is looking for a job. BB can show him how to play the net and attack more. If Sascha could volley like his older bro, he would be formidable.

He has the height and wing span to be a good volleyer but his ground game, though really good, should play closer to the baseline to take time away from his opponents so he can dictate the rallies better enabling him to attack more.

I suppose because he is so tall he doesn't feel the need to hit earlier because the higher bounce is not uncomfortable for him. He doesn't have to take everything early just at opportune times. Maybe his next coach will help him.
 
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shadow01

Professional
Lendl just really wanted to get the ClearSports custom golf ball logo out there in front of the cameras for a few tourneys.
Just went to the clear sports website because of this thread. They are now making tennis racquets also! Can't find anything on the internet about them, but claims to have wood in the frame. Wasn't wood pre-lendl era?
 

Mainad

Bionic Poster
The Bio may get an introduction to and possibly the job with a hot prospect but it doesn't substitute for the actual work of coaching.

Do you credit Lendl with any of Murray's success ? What about Zed's lack of progress ? Does it go both ways or is it heads Lendl wins and tales someone else loses ?

Lendl and Murray were just a better fit. They gelled as personalities. That said, as soon as Murray got injured and struggled to recover form, Lendl went walkabout. He only returned when Murray recovered sufficiently to start winning Slams and other big titles again. Then he disappeared after Murray got injured again.

With Zverev, it seemed to be working for a short while culminating in the WTF win at the end of last season. But this year has been a disaster and the mismatch in their personalities became ever more obvious. When Zverev publicly called Lendl out recently we knew it was the beginning of the end. Lendl is not the kind of guy who can be treated like that. He doesn't need to be.

Zverev has a history of conflict with coaches and publicly criticising them. He did it with Ferrero. He may just be too hot-headed to work with at the moment and needs to mature a bit and come off his high horse if he is to find someone he can truly work with.
 

rUDin 21

Hall of Fame
Lol...I wonder if the OP meant a 'big' title perhaps forgetting that Zverev has already won 3 Masters as well. Majors are just another name for Slams of course.
Well it's the biggest he's won so far..but still can't compare it to majors.If only the final is played Bo5 it would have more weight.
 

Cashman

Hall of Fame
When Edberg went away I didn't hear anyone lambasting Federer for his "attitude" yet it was clear that Edberg didn't do the job he was hired for.
I'm not sure I see it quite that way. Edberg was hired to improve Federer's net play, and Federer's net play undeniably improved. To me that it is the coach doing his job.

It didn't reap the expected dividends in terms of titles, so it made sense for Federer to end the relationship and try another strategy. I don't necessarily think that is a knock on Edberg's coaching though. Indeed I think the skills Federer learned with Edberg eventually paid off.

Lendl struck me as a coach that can add a little bit of something missing to push an already good player that little bit that will get him the biggest trophy, but apparently he is not good with players that have serious work in front of them.
It depends what that 'something' is. Everything I have read about Lendl indicates that he is pretty abrasive and has very little respect for people who lack work ethic and commitment. I reckon he could add a lot to any player who has a thick skin and a desire to push themselves physically and psychologically.

On the other hand I think that sort of old-school 'cup of concrete' mentality would be nothing but destructive to someone like Zverev - who is clearly struggling with direction, motivation and off-court turmoil. He probably needs a coach who's a bit more tuned-in to how to help him manage that.
 
I'm not sure I see it quite that way. Edberg was hired to improve Federer's net play, and Federer's net play undeniably improved. To me that it is the coach doing his job.

It didn't reap the expected dividends in terms of titles, so it made sense for Federer to end the relationship and try another strategy. I don't necessarily think that is a knock on Edberg's coaching though. Indeed I think the skills Federer learned with Edberg eventually paid off.

That is a very "up in the air" suggestion. Federer lost two precious years improving part of his game which wasn't even mediocre, and definitely not what could serve as a basis for his entire game. IMO, too much time for so small gains


It depends what that 'something' is. Everything I have read about Lendl indicates that he is pretty abrasive and has very little respect for people who lack work ethic and commitment.

Mental preparation, plus maybe some consistency in pressure moments. Still, Sasha needs something else.

I reckon he could add a lot to any player who has a thick skin and a desire to push themselves beyond their limits. But someone like Zverev who is clearly struggling with direction, motivation and off-court turmoil probably needs a coach who's a bit more tuned-in to how to help him manage that.

I got the impression that Lendl gets disinterested the moment not everything around his player is perfect. I cannot even fathom my coach to whom I am paying serious coin to be doing something else while I am training under his tutelage. That is absolutely unprofessional, so we know for sure that Lendl had such moments. Whatever Sasha did is not known, but if motivation and direction is the problem, isn't the coach there to fix exactly such issues?

:cool:
 

Cashman

Hall of Fame
That is a very "up in the air" suggestion. Federer lost two precious years improving part of his game which wasn't even mediocre, and definitely not what could serve as a basis for his entire game. IMO, too much time for so small gains
I don't necessarily disagree. I am just saying that I think this is more a flaw in Federer's thinking when hiring Edberg than a failure of coaching.

I mean, Edberg IS serve and volley. You don't buy a dishwasher and then complain that it doesn't clean your clothes properly.

Whatever Sasha did is not known, but if motivation and direction is the problem, isn't the coach there to fix exactly such issues?
Again, you need the right tool for the job. There is probably no tennis player in history who has less experience with lacking direction and motivation than Ivan Lendl.

I can well imagine him checking-out from a job where his charge displays insufficient commitment. He's just that kind of guy. If you hired him expecting something different - more fool you.
 

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
I'm no fan of Zverev and Lendl is definitely accomplished but since Ivan came on board, Zverev has just fallen off completely. Bit rich to say that Lendl coached Zverev to his only major title at the WTF when Zverev had won 3 Masters titles before he came along.

Maybe there was something to it when Zverev said Lendl just talks about golf and that.

Zverev hired Lendl in late August 2018. His results after:
3R US Open loss to Kohlschreiber
2 Laver cup wins over Anderson & Isner
3R Beijing loss to Jaziri
SF Shanghai loss to Djokovic
SF Basel loss to Copil
QF Paris loss to Khachanov

And then of course the WTF beating Cilic, Isner, Fed and Djokovic to win the title.

And then his 2019 hasn't been the best with just 1 ATP250 title.

Besides the 2018 WTF and Laver Cup, he's had 0 top 10 wins. None in 2019.
 

Mainad

Bionic Poster
I'm no fan of Zverev and Lendl is definitely accomplished but since Ivan came on board, Zverev has just fallen off completely. Bit rich to say that Lendl coached Zverev to his only major title at the WTF when Zverev had won 3 Masters titles before he came along.

Maybe there was something to it when Zverev said Lendl just talks about golf and that.

Zverev hired Lendl in late August 2018. His results after:
3R US Open loss to Kohlschreiber
2 Laver cup wins over Anderson & Isner
3R Beijing loss to Jaziri
SF Shanghai loss to Djokovic
SF Basel loss to Copil
QF Paris loss to Khachanov

And then of course the WTF beating Cilic, Isner, Fed and Djokovic to win the title.

And then his 2019 hasn't been the best with just 1 ATP250 title.

Besides the 2018 WTF and Laver Cup, he's had 0 top 10 wins. None in 2019.

But it begs the question why Zverev couldn't build on his reasonably successful 2017-18 seasons and do pretty much nothing in 2019. Was this really Lendl's fault or is it because, as Lendl said in his statement, Zverev suddenly had too many private distractions wich were preventing him from focussing on improving his game eg. Zverev himself talked about the upset caused by his ongoing legal dispute with his ex-manager.
 

The Blond Blur

G.O.A.T.
Lendel has gone and done it now man :mad: Zebra is going to use his frustration over Lendel dumping him as motivation to make it the 2nd round of the USO! You heard it hear first :cool:
 

Edhead-Fedhead

Hall of Fame
I'm not sure I see it quite that way. Edberg was hired to improve Federer's net play, and Federer's net play undeniably improved. To me that it is the coach doing his job.

It didn't reap the expected dividends in terms of titles, so it made sense for Federer to end the relationship and try another strategy. I don't necessarily think that is a knock on Edberg's coaching though. Indeed I think the skills Federer learned with Edberg eventually paid off.

I agree with you! And, Fed's relationship with Edberg was intended to be short-term right from the beginning. Stefan was definitely not looking for an actual coaching job. It was a positive experience for both of them, I think. They came out of it with their mutual respect for each other intact, and it's nice to still see Eddy sitting in the Fed box on occasion.
 

stringertom

Bionic Poster
Lol...I wonder if the OP meant a 'big' title perhaps forgetting that Zverev has already won 3 Masters as well. Majors are just another name for Slams of course.
Not OP...those are the tweeted words of a so called journalist Jon Wertheim.
 

veroniquem

Bionic Poster
I'm no fan of Zverev and Lendl is definitely accomplished but since Ivan came on board, Zverev has just fallen off completely. Bit rich to say that Lendl coached Zverev to his only major title at the WTF when Zverev had won 3 Masters titles before he came along.

Maybe there was something to it when Zverev said Lendl just talks about golf and that.

Zverev hired Lendl in late August 2018. His results after:
3R US Open loss to Kohlschreiber
2 Laver cup wins over Anderson & Isner
3R Beijing loss to Jaziri
SF Shanghai loss to Djokovic
SF Basel loss to Copil
QF Paris loss to Khachanov

And then of course the WTF beating Cilic, Isner, Fed and Djokovic to win the title.

And then his 2019 hasn't been the best with just 1 ATP250 title.

Besides the 2018 WTF and Laver Cup, he's had 0 top 10 wins. None in 2019.
I think Z should stick to his dad. Both his ventures with "celebrity" coaches have ended disastrously.
Maybe they put too much pressure on him succeeding. Maybe he is a spoiled kid. Or maybe Z is more like Kyrgios than meets the eye (too rebellious for traditional coaching)
Whatever the case may be, he seems to manage best with his dad. I say why not. Djoko tried the "celebrity" coaches too. In the end, good old Vajda is still the best fit.
 
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