Alexander Zverev is hoping Ivan Lendl can emulate his success with Andy Murray by bringing the grand slam-winning touch to their fledgling relationship.
The world No.4 announced earlier this week that he had hired Lendl to be part of his coaching team, starting at the US Open starting on Monday.
The move comes as no surprise, with Zverev having spent time with Lendl on an informal basis earlier this year, but now he has tempted the 58-year-old back on tour for the first time since his second split from Murray last November.
Lendl was credited as the final piece in the jigsaw that helped Murray break his grand slam duck, and the fiercely ambitious Zverev is looking to make the same leap.
At 21, the German already has nine ATP Tour titles to his name, three of them at Masters level, but has struggled to translate that to the grand slam arena, with a quarter-final appearance at this year's French Open his best run so far.
Obviously the relationship was always there. We've known each other for a few years now. I felt like after Wimbledon, it was a perfect time to maybe try something new," zverev said.
"Obviously the reason I'm with him is to compete and win the biggest tournaments in the world. That's the only reason he would join, as well. It's great having him here. Hopefully it will show in the results.
"There's a lot of tactical work, for sure. There's a lot of mental work, as well, to show me what it takes to compete for grand slams, to win grand slams.
"He's a smart man, a great guy. Done it as a player, done it as a coach, so he knows what it takes. He knows how to make the best players even better."
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