Australian Open 2012 Results: Andy Murray Needs Time with New Coach Ivan Lendl

There have been some encouraging signs from Andy Murray after his bold hire of coach Ivan Lendl, as evidenced by his wins against Ryan Harrison and Edouard Roger-Vasselin to start the Australian Open.

But while I believe Murray's hiring of Lendl will help him, Murray also has a long way to go to legitimately emerge into the Top 3 of men's tennis.

In my opinion, Murray's 2012 will go a lot like his match against Harrison went in the first round: some early struggles before coming around.

Early on in the match, when Murray became his usual emotional self, Lendl quickly snapped at him, "Stop looking at me," according to the Herald Sun.

And after losing the first set to Harrison, 6-4, Murray rattled off wins in the next three sets to advance to the second round.

What I'm saying is that Lendl may have the persona to get Murray under control and help him with his mental game, which always seems to be lacking in pivotal moments. However, coach-player relationships take time. They aren't born overnight.

Tennis is one of the most mental sports in the world. It's you versus your opponent with an entire arena watching. That's why I love what Lendl said to Murray against Harrison. "Stop looking at me" is another way of saying, "Deal with it."

Murray has tried to "deal with it" for years and more often than not he's blown up when things haven't gone his way. Against Harrison, he had nerves early on, but how he came out of it was key. That continued against Roger-Vasselin.

Murray won't get past that Top 3 hump at the 2012 Australian Open. But, given a little time, he has the ability to rise under Lendl's guidance.