THE most lonely, fearful spot in sport must be bending with ball in one hand and racket in another after squandering three match points in a Wimbledon final.

It was a situation that faced Andy Murray on a boiling Sunday afternoon at Wimbledon. He was like the boxer, ahead on points but on the ropes. He had, though, two great figures in his corner. Who knows how much the help from Ivan Lendl and Sir Alex Ferguson helped the young Scot over the line.

The 26-year-old Wimbledon champion was yesterday typically generous about Lendl, a coach who has watched his player win an Olympic gold medal and two grand slams since he took over, and Ferguson, the former Manchester United manager who has become a friend of the Murray camp and passed on some of the "gold dust" he has mined from an extraordinary lifetime in football.

The recruitment of Lendl was a step into the unknown for Murray and the dynamic of the relationship is fascinating, with the world No.2 hinting that the eight-time grand slam winner took the job on terms that included a requirement for the player to follow the coach's rules. It is more regularly the other way around in tennis.

Lendl has been forthright, honest and clear with his advice to Murray. The Scot is grateful and told him so immediately after his victory. "I just said thanks so much for everything you've done for me and he just said he was proud of me," said Murray. "He's been a huge help. But also I can't forget everyone else that's been part of the journey I've been through since I came on the tour.

"I've been through quite a few coaches. The rest of my team have pretty much stayed the same for the last six years or so, been through all the ups and down, seen all of that. And they've stuck by me as well. And Ivan has made a huge difference. It is quite clear to see in my results since I started working with him."

There will be no relaxation from the coach. "I know in Ivan's head that he is not content with how the last 18 months have gone," he said. "He will think I could have won the Australian Open this year and to get me ready for the US Open he will train me really hard over in Miami.

"I think that is huge having somebody like that in your corner. He was the ultimate competitor as a player and he loved winning. His consistency was amazing. He made eight consecutive US Open finals and there was no letdown for him. I hope having him in my corner will help out a lot."

But could Murray have broken his major duck, made the leap forward without Lendl? "I don't know the answer to that," he said. "It was a combination of a lot of things but he has helped me a lot and results suggest that. But, I have also done a lot of hard work with the other guys in my team and I have had a lot of people coach me in the past. I've had Darren Cahill, Alex Corretja, Mark Petchey, Miles Maclagan and Brad Gilbert. These are top quality, knowledgeable people. I wouldn't say it was purely down to Ivan but he has made a big, big difference."

Before he talked about Ferguson, he took a moment to consider the influence of Kim Sears, his long- time partner. "The one thing that really helped with her is that she understands the sport because she's been around it from a young age," he said of his partner who is the daughter of tennis coach, Nigel.

"She was used to her dad travelling on the tour from when she was a kid, knew what it was like to have that distant relationship. And that's obviously helped a lot. It's been coming up to eight years, bar a few months in the middle, we've been together. A long time."

The non-sporting press will be consumed with the prospect of Murray placing a gold ring on her finger, the sporting achievement world is concerned with Fergie "gold dust".

So what was the make-up of that substance, what was at the core with that chat with the former Manchester United manager at Wimbledon. "There wasn't one thing in particular," said Murray. "One of the things he said to me was just that one of the things he built his teams on was consistency and concentration. If you can concentrate throughout an entire match you'll gain that consistency.

"And that was something I tried to do throughout the tournament. It is something I try to do but it kind of emphasises the point a bit more when someone like him says it to you. That wasn't the only thing. There were a lot of things I spoke to him about in the 15-20 minutes. He won so much over how many years he was in management."

Ferguson could not attend the final on Sunday because he is on a family cruise around the Scottish islands. "He said to me he had always wanted to go up north but he had never had the time. I assume that's because he was always working," said Murray.

The work continues for the Scot with Lendl as the taskmaster and Ferguson as a valued confidant.