World number four Andy Murray has hired eight-time Grand Slam champion Ivan Lendl as his coach on Saturday to strengthen his bid to finally win his first Slam title.
The partnership is said to have officially started with both working together for the Australian Open 2012 which begins on January 16.
“It was important to me that any new person joining my team was able to add fresh insight,” Murray said in a statement.
“Ivan’s impact on the game is unquestionable and he brings experience and knowledge that few others have, particularly in major tournaments. I look forward to working with him going forward,” he added.
Murray ended the 2011 season as world number four but fell short of winning a Slam title. He reached the Australian Open final where he lost to Novak Djokovic and reached the semifinals of the other three Grand Slam events. He had a brief stint as world number three after posting title wins in Asia but was overtaken once more by Roger Federer after the latter won the Paris Masters and the year-end ATP World Tour Finals in London.
