Coaching talk is all the rage on this closing weekend of the U.S. Open. The men's semifinals featured Goran Ivanisevic (Marin Cilic) against Stefan Edberg (Roger Federer) and Michael Chang (Kei Nishikori) versus Boris Becker (Novak Djokovic). What's more, Mike Bryan has spoken out to say that he, like Patrick McEnroe, supports a decentralized national approach that lets private-sector coaches have a go at it with their charges.
Meanwhile, Tomas Berdych, soundly defeated by Marin Cilic in the quarterfinal round, has admitted publicly that he would like to work with Ivan Lendl. Lendl coached Andy Murray until earlier this year, and Murray, partly held up by back surgery, hasn't made a dent in Grand Slam events since then. At issue is whether Lendl would want to travel again, as the global schedule was said to be one reason he left Murray's camp.
It's obvious that Berdych is a player who, aside from his appearance in the 2010 Wimbledon final against Rafael Nadal, is looking for a true major breakthrough. That said, do you think he would find his ultimate Czech mate in Lendl? If not, who should coach him?
Regardless of who leads him, does T-Berd have a singles Slam title in him? The Spin says yes, considering that Nishikori, Cilic, and Stan Wawrinka have found themselves competing for and even winning them in the past nine months. All that said, here's a lonely truth: Conversations playing out in the press like this cannot feel good for the likes of Tomas Krupa, Berdych's current coach.
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