Andy Murray to reunite with coach Ivan Lendl for a THIRD time as he bid to rise back up the rankings

Andy Murray is to unite with Ivan Lendl for a third time, reforming the coaching partnership that brought him the greatest success of his career.

In an unexpected move, the 34-year-old Scot is again turning to the eight-time Major winner as he seeks to accelerate what has been a frustratingly slow rise up the rankings.

Murray, currently ranked 84 and playing with a metal hip, first teamed up with Lendl at the start of 2012 as one of the earliest examples of a big name former player turning to coaching, which very much started a trend.

Andy Murray is to unite with Czech-American coach Ivan Lendl for the third time in his career

Lendl (left) helped Murray (right) win Olympic gold before his first Wimbledon triumph

It quickly paid dividends, with Murray winning the 2012 Olympic gold, followed by the US Open. They were still together when he won his first Wimbledon in 2013.

Their first split came in March 2014, with the Czech-American tiring of travelling and Murray having had back surgery in the autumn following his triumph at SW19. They reunited in the early summer of 2016 and soon afterwards he won his second title at the All England Club.

Worn down by continual hip problems that first emerged in May 2017, they then split again at the end of that year. Since then Murray’s career has been a struggle as he has had a metal cap inserted in the injured area.

However, nobody has made more of a success at playing under that handicap in singles tennis, and he managed to win the ATP event in Antwerp in late 2019.

Murray has had a decent smattering of top 30 wins, but with nothing like the regularity of his early career, and his game has lacked consistency.

The two will start working together again in April as Murray looks to rise back up the rankings

The two will start working together again in April, following the forthcoming Masters level events at Indian Wells and Miami, with the player having elected to skip the clay court season.

A spokesman for Murray said: ‘They will spend several weeks together in the US after the Miami tournament on an extended training block, where Andy and the team will get ready for the grass season. Andy will also look to appoint an additional coach, who will travel with him and work closely with Ivan.’

Recently the Scot has admitted his frustration at his lack of progress, and that he was struggling to contain his emotions on the court. He was working in Dubai with old friend and former coach Dani Vallverdu, on loan from Stan Wawrinka.

Lendl has kept a relatively low profile in recent seasons, working with American junior players in Florida and has rarely been seen on the tour, even before the pandemic.