Lendl making major impact

Andy Murray's biggest critics used to say the Scot surrounded himself with yes-men. Nobody would dare make that accusation since Ivan Lendl joined the world No 4's entourage this year.

Asked if his coach ever got angry, Murray said: "No, what he wants me to do, I do. I've not been late for practice, I've worked hard in the gym and I've always prepared as best I can. Sometimes in practice I've got down on myself and been annoyed and afterwards he's said: 'Come on, be a bit more upbeat.' He'll normally ask questions before he says something to me. So far, there's not been any anger or shouting at each other in practice or close matches."

Pato Alvarez, Mark Petchey, Brad Gilbert, Miles Maclagan and Alex Corretja have come and gone as coaches, but Murray says he wants to work with Lendl "for a long time".

The first six months of their partnership suggest it can be a turning point in Murray's career. Having gone within five points of beating Novak Djokovic in their Melbourne semi-final, Murray has reached the semi-finals here for the fourth year in succession. Furthermore, Lendl knows how to bounce back from defeats in Grand Slam finals. Murray has lost three without winning a set; Lendl lost four before winning one and then won seven more.

"He has a lot to offer, a lot more knowledge than most people," Murray said. "We talk tactics the night before a match. You still speak 30 to 40 minutes before a match and get a lot of information and tactics. He doesn't miss anything.

"He gives you a lot of information on players, so I've started to talk the night before matches so I can process it. That's really been the big difference. He's making sure I'm focusing on the match the night before, so I can sleep on it and make sure I'm prepared, rather than not thinking about the match at all and maybe starting off a little bit slow."

Lendl has told Murray to spend less time working on his serve, which has been much improved.

"I hit a lot less serves than I used to," Murray said. "Ivan is more of the opinion that you need to rest your shoulder and make sure it's loose, not tired, when you go into big tournaments, because over the two weeks you hit thousands of serves. I've hit a lot fewer serves since I started working with him. That's maybe a reason why I'm serving well deeper into the tournament. He's worked on my second serve too."

Lendl's biggest influence has shown itself in the way Murray is channelling his emotions on court. There were occasional lapses during the clay-court season but Murray has been as focused here as he was in Australia. He no longer conducts running conversations with himself or screams at his entourage.

Tim Henman said yesterday: "I think that is the Lendl factor. I can imagine it is not that easy to shout and scream at someone like Ivan, given his stature in the game. I don't think he would hang around long."

Lendl's emotionless demeanour helps. "Just having him around is kind of a calming influence – when I look to the box and see him there I feel much calmer," Murray said.

Lendl hopes his arrival has helped to take some pressure off the Scot's shoulders. "I admire his guts for hiring me," said shortly after his appointment. "He had to know it would create a lot of interest. It ups the ante a little bit. That just shows me he wants it."