Andy Murray column: 'Ivan is more handshakes than hugs'

Ivan Lendl is definitely more of a handshake than a hug kind of guy.

I think I’ve only ever had one or two hugs from Ivan – once after I lost my first Wimbledon final against Roger Federer, and maybe also when I won the US Open final. I don’t think there was any hugging when I won Wimbledon.

So it was with a straight handshake that we greeted each other at Queen’s Club on Tuesday morning – the first time we’d seen each other since the US Open last September.

We’d chatted occasionally over the past couple of years and I’d spoken to him a few times at the end of last year.

I was just staying in contact, seeing what he was up to, and I knew he’d done some trials with other players so was interested to know if he was considering getting back on the tour.

We know each other very well and it was good to have him back on Tuesday, it didn’t feel strange at all. Getting a win over someone as good on grass as Nicolas Mahut was certainly a great start.

‘If we disagree, that’s not a problem’

Ivan is very clear and has strong opinions on things.

That’s important, I like that. I’d rather someone was very strong with what they’re saying and, if I disagree, that’s not a problem for him. He doesn’t take it to heart.

It’s a bit easier to communicate when you don’t feel like you’re going to upset someone.

I also enjoy his company and his sense of humour. He’ll chat about pretty much anything. He’s into his sports and has lots of good stories from when he was on tour.

It was a bit different back then with Johnny Mac [McEnroe] and Jimmy Connors around. There weren’t microphones and cameras everywhere. I’d say it was little bit more interesting in some ways.

Obviously there are rivalries on the tour now but, from the stories that I’ve heard, I’d say the players today are a lot more friendly with each other off the court.

‘Ivan and Jamie must see eye to eye’

It’s important that Ivan and my other coach, Jamie Delgado, spend time together over the next few days.

Ivan has arrived with his own clear ideas on what he thinks I need to be doing but one of his great strengths is he’s a very good team player. It’s crucial that he and Jamie see eye to eye.

Ultimately I spend 40 weeks of the year with Jamie, and he also needs to believe and buy into the stuff that I’m working on as well.

Jamie knows me well too, he’s spent pretty much every day with me for the last three or four months, and that can help Ivan.

So the two of them will chat about the things we need to concentrate on, especially this week on the grass. I’ll be told before practice that this is what we’re doing, I’ll give a bit of feedback about what I might want to focus on, and we’ll start work.

‘I need to improve to win majors’

I’m the number two player in the world by a decent distance in terms of ranking points, so I’m not playing badly, but the goals remain the same as ever.

There are still things I feel I can improve upon, which I need to do if I want to get to number one in the world and try and win majors.

I believe that Ivan, along with the other guys I’m working with, can help me achieve that.

I think my team is very strong right now. I’ve been getting better over the past few months, I’ve improved some things, and hopefully I can get a few percent better over the next few months.

Winning a fifth title at Queen’s Club this week would be the perfect start.

Andy Murray was talking to BBC Sport’s Piers Newbery.

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