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We in the media are simple souls: spot the blindingly obvious, put it in a headline and call it an insight. Alas, real life is not like that.
When asked about Ivan Lendl, his high profile, emotion-free coach, taking on John McEnroe, the high octane, motor mouthed coach of Milos Raonic in the Gentlemen’s singles final (and he has been asked it lots), the world No.2 takes a deep breath. Carefully, and with no malice, he explains to the hard of understanding in front of him that he, Andy Murray, is not playing Johnnie Mac and that Milos is not playing Ivan. It is a non-story. Oh, but that does not stop us happy hacks.
Even so, if the coaches (who famously did not get on as players) are not going toe-to-toe, the influence they have over their charges is. And with Lendl, the focus is to be single-minded, utterly focused and ruthless (as Murray explained in his BBC column) while for McEnroe, his job is to get Raonic to be more expressive, more emotional on court. Less is more for Murray; more is goal for Raonic.
“I think it's something that we've all been working at together,” Raonic said. “I think he's definitely put an emphasis on it. A lot of times I felt in matches that I need to sort of calm myself down to let things from getting out of control. I feel like when I get positive, I can get negative quickly as well.
Playing a Slam final is different. There's a little bit more riding on the match
“He sort of implemented it, from how he's seen me play. ‘Too calm for you. You tend to be too calm, try to get energy out of you, try to get it out of you on court and leave it all out there, try to get the most out of yourself’.”
That may have struck terror into the hearts of the umpires and line judges called upon to officiate in the final but it was not all bad news. McEnroe had some ding-dong dust-ups with authority in his playing days but he is not encouraging his charge to turn into the angry man of SW19. He just believes that a little emotion never hurt anyone.
“I haven't been angry,” Raonic explained. “I've been quite positive. I think it's more of a positive attitude. Keep plugging away, things will figure itself out.”
Murray, on the other hand, has spent a lifetime trying to find just the right balance between passion and calm when he plays. When he gets it right, he is a mighty force to be reckoned with but he also knows that when the scales tilt and he gets angry with himself, he can let a set run away from him.
Going into this final, though, Murray ought to be feeling settled. Raonic is a fearsome foe but the Canadian is playing in his first Grand Slam final while he is playing in his 11th. And this will also be his third final in SW19. The adrenaline will be coursing through him as he walks out, but he will know Centre Court like the back of his hand and he will know how the day is likely to pan out. He will know how nervous he will feel and when, he will know that thumping feeling in his chest as he serves at set point or – he hopes – match point. That can make all the difference.
That said, this is the first time he has not played either Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer in a major final. His 10 previous finals have included seven against the Serb and three against the Swiss. Raonic will be a new experience. Not quite as new an experience as it will be for Raonic, but new nonetheless.
“Yeah, that's different,” Murray said. “But you never know how anyone's going to deal with the pressures of a slam final. So I just have to go out there and concentrate on my side, do what I can to prepare well for it and see what happens.
“When I played my first one, it all came round really quickly. At the US Open that year [2008], I played the semi-final over two days against Rafa. Then go straight into the final the following day. It just didn't feel like there was loads of time to sort of settle down and sort of prepare for it. I remember it went by fairly quickly.
“I didn't feel so nervous before that one maybe because there wasn't as much time to get ready for it. But it is different; playing a slam final obviously is different. There's a little bit more riding on the match. That's what makes these events special.”
Murray leads their career rivalry 6-3 but, more tellingly, he has won all three of their matches this year, on three different surfaces. The last was in the Queen’s final three weeks ago when he came back from a set and a break down to win.
That week at Queen’s was the first for the McEnroe-Raonic partnership and also for the Lendl-Murray reunion. First blood then to Lendl. ‘Twas ever thus. When they finished playing, Lendl had beaten McEnroe in 21 of 36 encounters. Can he do it again on Sunday? Watch this space.
