The Ball was IN!!!

The hayfever’s kicking in, the weather is on the turn (well, ok, ish) and the days are definitely longer so summer is coming and therefore so is, much to my delight, Wimbledon.

Nearly 12 months ago, I was glued to the telly as Andy Murray finally ended Britain’s 77 year wait for a home-grown champ and he did it in style in straight sets.  For his coach, Ivan Lendl, this was the culmination of a strategy to turn Andy from a contender to a double grand-slam winner worthy of the world number 1 spot one day.  Despite winning his first slam (US Open) in 2012 and an Olympic gold, THIS was the one that mattered.

As the nation expects, he should successfully defend that title in 2014, but he’s not scaled the dizzy heights since that emphatic win over Novak Djokovic.  He’s had back surgery, struggled with his form and dipped to the world number 8. 

Now, there has to be concern over his motivation in preparing for such a title defence with all those issues playing on his mind and doing it without the support and guidance from Ivan Lendl after their partnership recently ended. 

After one recent drubbing, Murray admitted his coach was missing – “that’s a big part of my team”.

There’s rumour aplenty surrounding his next manager and any prospective coach needs to recognise the core aspects of motivation which come in varying degrees in each person (based on David McClelland’s Needs Based Model):

•         The need for achievement – clearly seeks achievement is the main aspect, but also the attainment of realistic but challenging goals, and advancement. There is a strong need for feedback as to achievement and progress, and a need for a sense of accomplishment.

Lendl and Murray were a good partnership and were very much in tune and both could tolerate each other’s nuances – Lendl, like Murray, had also lost the first 4 of his grand-slam finals before winning the maiden one and was able to offer advice based on experience.  Murray will need strong inner motivation to climb back up the rankings and win more grand-slam tournaments under intense media scrutiny given his recent lapse.  These challenges will get harder – younger players coming to the fore as well as the stranglehold the top 3 players have.

•         The need for authority and power - this driver produces a need to be influential, effective and to make an impact. There is a strong need to lead and for their ideas to prevail. There is also motivation and need towards increasing personal status and prestige.

Lendl recognised Murray’s need for an element of control in aspects of his game and his career but Murray respected his coach and allowed him to advise.  He is the best male British tennis player of at least a generation and now the determination and drive has to be there to get better– he achieved the seemingly impossible and now he has to do it again.  But what next and how?  Common sense suggests he needs a coach who had to stage a comeback himself to at least address that. 

•         The need for affiliation - has a need for friendly relationships and is motivated towards interaction with other people. The affiliation driver produces motivation and need to be liked and held in popular regard. These people are team players.

Previously a lot of negativity was expressed in the press about Murray’s personality and his handling of interviews and personal appearances.  Under the guidance of his team including Lendl he has worked more with the media and invested some time in winning fans.  Tennis, at the top at least, is a team effort 24/7 and Murray has recognised the importance of those in his team and, as recently as today, said he is keen to make the right choice, and not opt for a quick fix.

You cannot be serious!!

Tennis pundits in the past have praised the pairing of Lendl and Murray.  Murray had finally channelled those emotional outbursts into his game and adopted a less frenetic demeanour on court.  If the rumours are true and Murray is considering John MacEnroe (who won 7 grand-slam titles and was one of tennis’s more colourful characters) as a coach, then we could see some smashing (that is raquet-smashing) tennis this summer. 

Fabulous – pass the pimms!