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Murray: No Lendl-Becker fireworks

Paddy HiggsDecember 24, 2013

Reigning Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has played down the likelihood of the rivalry Ivan Lendl and Boris Becker had during their playing days reigniting from the coaches boxes in 2014.

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Boris Becker. Photo: dpa
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

Long-time enemies on the court, Lendl and Becker will each be coaching two of the world's top players - Lendl, of the Czech Republic, has been Murray's mentor since late 2011, while Germany's Becker is set to join the camp of world No.2 Novak Djokovic as head coach in 2014.

The Lendl-Becker relationship was often frosty during their playing days before thawing after both retired. Lendl held sway in their overall meetings, winning 12 matches to Becker's 10. The German, however, won all three of their Grand Slam final meetings.

The duo last faced off on the court 20 years ago, and Murray, of Scotland, told Dubai-based newspaper Gulf News relations will be civil if they cross paths as coaches.

"I personally don't think there will be renewal of a rivalry. I mean, no matter if you are coaching the players, you can't influence much," he said.

"Once you step on court, the coaches can do very little to the outcome of a match. It is the preparation where the coaches can make a really good difference. We will have to see how it goes from here."

Murray, 26, finished fourth in the end-of-year rankings, having won the Wimbledon title in 2013 - his second Grand Slam trophy. Lendl played a key role in that feat, and Murray has subsequently seen Becker link up with Djokovic and former world No.1 Roger Federer turn to another champion from that era in Stefan Edberg.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia (L) poses with the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup with runner-up Andy Murray of Britain after their men's singles final match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, January 27, 2013. Photo: Reuters.
The rivalry between the Djokovic (R) and Murray (L) camps now has a new subplot.Image: Reuters

Murray is unsure, however, if it represents any kind of trend.

"Obviously, everyone wants to keep working on every game. It is good to see great players like Novak get some help from Becker who has been there and done it before," he said.

"I don't know if it is a trend starting here or not. For that, we will have to wait and see for few years."