McEnroe talks up Wimbledon chances for Murray
John McEnroe believes Wimbledon remains Andy Murray's best chance of bringing down Novak Djokovic and winning a third grand slam title.
Murray has been denied two major victories already this year by Djokovic after losing to the Serb in both the Australian and French Open finals.
The British number one registered a rare win in Rome in May but otherwise their rivalry sits firmly in favour of Djokovic, who has lost only two of their last 15 matches.
The pair will be in separate halves of the tournament when the Wimbledon draw is made on Friday but another meeting in the final, which would be their eighth at grand slams, is certainly not out of the question.
McEnroe, a three-time winner at Wimbledon and the recently-appointed coach for Canada's Milos Raonic, says SW19 remains Murray's best hope of bucking the trend.
"In ways he's getting closer. I do think Wimbledon is his best chance," said McEnroe, speaking on behalf of ESPN.co.uk.
"If you were to say in terms of surface, I think he's best suited on grass and just having the crowd more on his side here at Wimbledon.
"So I think his best chance, not that he can't beat Djokovic at the US Open, he beat him in Rome not long ago, but his record has recently not been good.
"Murray is playing great, he's a great player, there's no question about it. But at the moment there's no question that the level Novak is at is something that you rarely, if ever, see."
Murray announced the reappointment of his former coach Ivan Lendl earlier this month, under whom he enjoyed the most successful spell of his career between 2012 and 2014.
The Scot won the US Open, Wimbledon and an Olympic gold medal with the Czech and McEnroe was not surprised by their reunion.
"I think him adding Ivan, he's trying to get that little bit extra, just like other players are trying to do the same," McEnroe said.
"To me it's not surprising, it's not a no-brainer, but I think the fact his best success was with Ivan, it makes sense to give this another shot given the circumstances.
"It doesn't surprise me. I think it makes people think - if you get in someone's head in any way - whether that can make a difference, whether he makes a difference.
"We all hope he can make a difference. He's done an excellent job in the past."
Murray may also hope Djokovic begins to feel the pressure at the All England Club as he stands halfway to winning all four major titles in a single year and completing the 'calendar grand slam'. He would be the first man to do so since Rod Laver in 1969.
The top seed, however, also arrives in high spirits, fresh from sealing a first French Open title, a victory that completed his career set of major triumphs.
"I doubt that Novak is going to let up," McEnroe said. "I think there may be, if anything, more pressure because he'll be going for the actual calendar-year slam. This is something monumental."
McEnroe's first tournament with Raonic came at Queen's last week as the American watched his pupil lose out to Murray in a tight, three-set final.
Raonic, with his blistering serve and powerful forehand, will be a dangerous proposition at Wimbledon and McEnroe admits he is open to continuing their partnership beyond the summer.
"I think it always was for me hopefully something that wasn't going to be for a couple weeks then, 'thank you very much'," McEnroe said.
"But I think it would be part of something where I pick and choose. If I use the word 'part-time', something like 10 weeks a year or less."