US Open: Communication is everything – Ivan Lendl training with Zverev and Djokovic

Officially Ivan Lendl and Alexander Zverev only work together for a few days. The first impressions from training before the US Open 2018 show that the Czech-born player already feels comfortable in his role.

By Jens Huiber from New York City

Ivan Lendl is standing on the wall behind his new protégé Alexander Zverev junior. Right beside him on the court of Grandstand Alexander senior, for him nothing in Germany’s number one is new. Papa Zverev takes a back seat in the two-hour training session with Novak Djokovic, leaving it to Lendl to design the communication on the pitch.

Last year Ivan Lendl was also a guest at the US Open, still as a member of Andy Murray’s team. Both Murray and Lendl had to leave without having achieved anything, as the 2012 champion’s hip needed a longer break.

Ivan Lendl is a man for the big events, so he joined the Zverevs. The Czech by birth is also a man who, contrary to his former reputation, has a strong sense of humour and can master a room as well as a tennis court. Lendl discusses training with Zverev, chats with Marian Vajda, exchanges ideas with Novak Djokovic. The Serb will be missing from Media Day on Friday, surprisingly. After all, Djokovic won the US Open twice in his career, most recently in Wimbledon and a week ago in Cincinnati.

Zverev and Djokovic show in high speed what normal mortal tennis players can’t do in slow motion: Three balls each played cross to the lines, then a hit longline, then again the cross rally. The drills change, the players take breaks, Ivan Lendl uses them to communicate.

Djokovic has been drawn in round one by Marton Fucsovics, that will not frighten the Serbs. But who has been able to do this during the last few weeks? The now 13-time major winner again radiates the invincibility of 2015 and wins matches where things don’t go smoothly. Cincinnati’s final against Roger Federer was very smooth, he could wait in the quarter-finals.

Alexander Zverev does not know his opponent yet, could face Philipp Kohlschreiber in round three and Marin Cilic in the quarter-finals. Ivan Lendl will communicate with Alexander Zverev in detail until then – and when everything is said and done, while the pits, as already as coach of Andy Murray, don’t grimace.

Here the draw of the men at the US Open 2018