Warsaw – Eight-time Grand Slam champion Ivan Lendl will train Polish tennis player Hubert Hurkacz next year. He became the successor of Craig Boynton, with whom the currently 16th player in the world ranking parted ways in August after five years. Hurkacz announced on social media that together with the 64-year-old native of Ostrava, Chilan Nicolás Massu, the Olympic champion in singles and doubles from the 2004 Athens Games, will also be part of his coaching team.
“It’s an honor to have Nicolás Massu and Ivan Lendl on the team. Their knowledge and dedication inspire me to work harder than before and I’m ready to get down to it,” the 27-year-old Hurkacz was quoted as saying by the ATP Tour website.
Lendl, whose collection of Grand Slam titles is missing only from Wimbledon, is returning to training after splitting with Andy Murray last year. He worked with him for a total of three seasons, and the British tennis player won all three of his Grand Slam titles and two Olympic golds under his guidance in the years 2012-2016. The last time they broke up was last November. In the past, former world number one Lendl also coached German Alexander Zverev, but after less than a year, their cooperation ended due to disagreements.
Forty-five-year-old Massu, whose domain was the game on clay, has coaching experience with Dominic Thiem. In 2020, the Austrian tennis player won the US Open under his leadership.
Hurkacz’s maximum in the world ranking is the sixth place from this August and the semi-final participation at Wimbledon in 2021 at the Grand Slams. This year, he was the furthest in the quarter-finals at the Australian Open, he finished a round earlier at Roland Garros and won only one match at Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows. He also injured himself on the London grass and underwent meniscus surgery in July.
“It was a year of ups and downs. I learned a lot and now I’m finally healthy and ready for new challenges,” said eight-time ATP Tour winner Hurkacz.
Sport tennis Hurkacz Massu Lendl coach
Source: www.ceskenoviny.cz
