Ivan Lendl doesn't like headlines and he hates sensationalism but as the US Open begins tomorrow, he believes Andy Murray's Olympic win could be the spark he needs to win his first Grand Slam title.
The Czech watched from afar as Murray blitzed Roger Federer to win the gold medal at Wimbledon this month, as impressed as everyone else who saw the transformation of the Scot into a national hero.
Not only was it a measure of revenge after losing to Federer in the Wimbledon final the previous month, but it showed the rest of the world that Murray could produce his best on the biggest occasions.
There are plenty inside the game, as well as outside, who expect the flood gates to open for Murray now the monkey is off his back but for all the joy at winning Olympic gold, a Grand Slam title remains the pinnacle of the sport.
Murray has lost his four Grand Slam finals but Lendl, defeated in his first four before winning eight, knows from experience what a breakthrough win might do, perhaps here over the next fortnight where Murray is one of the favourites for glory.
"[When I won the French Open in 1984], I didn't feel it was any different or that my game was any different to before," Lendl said in New York. "But having said that, it is a big help because of the way the others perceive you, not necessarily because of the way you look at yourself or how you feel, but how you're perceived by the others. Is it worth a point in a tie-break in the fifth set? I don't know, maybe."
Lendl has been credited with helping Murray add a little more aggression to his natural counter-attacking style and in the Olympic final the Scot was at his best as he won in straight sets.
"I thought he played great," said Lendl, who had to watch most of Murray's matches on tape from the United States, where he described the Olympic coverage as "really lousy".
"I thought he played really well and it was nice to see him win it. I watched the finals live. He was playing the way we know Andy can. It was great to see. I really enjoyed it."
Murray has barely stopped smiling since he won the Olympics and Lendl said his achievement was "right up there" with winning a Grand Slam title.
"It's a big win," he added. "You can make a case for both. You can say it's more, you can say it's less, you can say it's equal. It's very much up there. I think in many ways winning the gold is much more difficult than winning a slam because you get a chance only once every four years.
"If you look at it, when Andy was 21 he wasn't quite ready. Now he's won it. If he didn't win it he would be 29 the next time and who knows? He clearly did it coming into the prime of his career. Will he still be in his prime when he's 29? We don't know.
"I talked to Andy after the match and I said to him: 'You picked the most difficult one to win first because you only get one chance every four years'."
Murray takes on Alexander Bogomolov Jr of Russia in round one with world No 1 Federer likely to be waiting in the semi-finals.
With no Rafael Nadal to worry about (the Spaniard is not playing because of injury), Murray is seeded third behind Federer and the defending champion, Novak Djokovic.
After winning gold, Murray pulled out midway through the Toronto Masters and then lost early, to France's Jeremy Chardy, in Cincinnati.
But Lendl said Murray was raring to go and has been practising hard since arriving in New York last Friday, far earlier than usual.
"You never know but I wouldn't read too much into [that]," Lendl said. "He should be more relaxed and more comfortable [after winning the Olympics]. He's looking pretty good."
Simon Cambers
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