IVAN LENDL has brushed aside the increasing pressure on Andy Murray as an "irrelevance", insisting the goal for his player is "not to make the semis" but to win Wimbledon.
Murray today plays Mikhail Youzhny of Russia in the fourth round with the hype about him being ramped up in the wake of the departures of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and the claims by John McEnroe, the BBC commentator and former Wimbledon champion, that it would be a "catastrophe" if the Scot does not reach the final.
Lendl, however, was unmoved by the perceived pressure, focused with his normal steeliness on the task facing the world No.2. "The goal is still the same as last year, to try to win it, do the best you can, the chips fall where they fall but the goal is not to make the semis, not the finals, the goal is to win it," said the coach, who won eight grand slam titles and was courtside when the Dunblane player won the US Open last year.
Lendl was also cautious when assessing the draw, which has "opened up" with Murray possibly facing Youzhny, Fernando Verdasco and Jerzy Janowicz en route to a seeded final against Novak Djokovic. "It happens all the time," said Lendl. "Sometimes your draw opens up, seeds lose. I would not call Andy's draw by any means open. Both Rafa and Roger lost, but they lost because the other guys played very well."
He added: "You cannot relax. It has happened, it will happen somewhere again when seeds lose. In some people's eyes it is open; in my mind it is not open, it is still very difficult."
Murray saw McEnroe's comment when he picked up a newspaper in the locker room on Friday before his match against Tommy Robredo. "I walk by the papers in the locker room and don't see them," said Lendl. "I know where they are but I don't pick them up. But I think if you shut yourself off, it can all hit you at once. I don't see any big problem with it, knowing there is pressure on Andy, and the more matches he wins, there will be more and more. I would rather see it gradually than all at once, but everybody is different."
He added: "Someone can say that Djokovic is the hot favourite, somebody can say that it will be the end of the world if Andy wins or he doesn't. One or the other, it is totally irrelevant."
Murray, though, is determined to remain focused as the hype surpasses the worst excesses of Henmania. "It was the same with Tim Henman when I was growing up," he said of the expectation placed on the Englishman. "By the time that Tim started to do well, I was a bit older and always travelling or playing the juniors, so I never got a full-blown case of Henmania. The excitement is building and, while I feel it too, it's important that I keep a lid on it."
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