THE orthodox sporting wisdom is that you never go back. So much for that. Celtic might have decided against a second coming for Neil Lennon this summer and Everton would seemingly have taken any other manager than David Moyes but Andy Murray bucked that trend with a vengeance when he concluded a deal to play out the crucial, mature stage of his career under the taciturn gaze of Ivan Lendl. The enigmatic former champion from Ostrava, by way of Connecticut, will check in at Queen's Club today and assuming everything runs to plan the two men are envisaged to be together for "a long time".

The upside of the arrangement is fairly obvious. Flash back to that sunkissed July day at SW19 in the summer of 2013 and it was the undemonstrative Lendl who Murray first embraced after clambering up to the players' box, even having to be reminded to give his mother Judy a hug on the way out. Unlikely bedfellows or not, these two men were kindred spirits who were more than the sum of their parts. In addition to the first home win in the men's singles for 77 years, their successful three-year relationship together harvested 2012 Olympic gold and the Scot's maiden major win at the US Open.

Whether the Scot would have gone on to more major success had the pair thrashed things out together rather than part company in March 2014 is one of sport's great unknowns. Lord knows Lendl had his eccentricities - his outlandish demands included top grade travel and guaranteed time on the golf course, not to mention a clause which insisted upon him watching the final round of the US Masters as live no matter where he happened to be in the world - but Andy had hoped the relationship would continue.

While the Scot's general level of excellence has persisted - 2015 was his most successful year in terms of match wins to date, and included Great Britain's Davis Cup win - what hasn't is his knack of winning the majors. Nine have now come and gone, including three wounding losses in Grand Slam finals, all to Novak Djokovic. No wonder, at the age of 29, that Murray should swallow any pride about the affair and leave nothing to chance in his bid to add to his legend while he still has time.

While there was nothing straightforward about his last choice of coach, Amelie Mauresmo - the Frenchwoman arrived on the eve of Queen's in 2014, and would soon have to contend with her first son Aaron - a second coming for Lendl is rather more obvious. Everyone this side of Christendom at some point it seems has suggested it. Obvious choices aren't always the right ones, but the logic here is impeccable.

"I don't know if it is like going back out with your ex-wife or ex-girlfriend," said John McEnroe this week, a member these days of Team Milos Raonic. "It might even make sense. It might not work. But it is an interesting thought."

Greg Rusedski feels his return will bring "experience and psychology". "Andy is a great student of the game but Ivan would know how to handle situations because he has got the T-shirt," said Rusedski. "He doesn't need this so you can't argue with him. Andy has had an unbelievable career but it wasn't until he made that brave decision to take Ivan that he made it into greatness. Ivan brought him into it."

Why shouldn't you go back, if something worked before? The arrangement requires no breaking in period, as in a sense Lendl has never been away. The two men have always remained on friendly terms and still correspond regularly over the telephone.

The tennis world has turned, however, in the two years since Lendl left town. Now he must dovetail with Jamie Delgado rather than Dani Vallverdu, and Djokovic - who Murray hasn't defeated over five sets since that Wimbledon final in 2013 - has only grown more formidable.

The Scot is two years older and wiser too. Whether Lendl can help his pupil achieve greatness all over again remains to be seen but it is worth a try and it will add an interesting dimension to Queen's Club this week. Three years ago in a charity match at that venue, Murray demonstrated his master's work by smacking a ground stroke straight at him as he stood at the net, a typical Lendl move. The Czech simply smiled inscrutably back at him.