Team behind the Rusedski remake

His game rebuilt, the British No 2 is firing on all cylinders. Steve Tongue studies the science behind the statistics

Those who live by the statistical sword risk dying by it. Brad Langevad, the Sydneysider who has become the most influential figure in the team behind Greg Rusedski's revival, insists that if by the end of this year his man has not won 75 per cent of his matches, "I'll have done a mediocre job".

Until the grass-court season began at Queen's Club last Monday, helping to raise the British No 2's average, that target was looking formidable for a player who had suffered from such wretched form and injuries in 2000 that he was on the verge of finding alternative employment. "I think I'd have been through by now, because I couldn't have put up with that for another year," he admitted.

Rusedski's season so far divides into three parts. For two months on hard courts, he was outstanding, regaining fitness and confidence with a series of victories against opponents of the quality of Gustavo Kuerten, Marat Safin, Lleyton Hewitt and Andre Agassi, the latter success bringing a first title (in San Jose) for two years. A back injury in Florida in March led to a run of only three wins in 10 matches, culminating in defeat at the French Open by Fabrice Santoro before feet of clay began spending time on the grass again. Then a successful week at Queen's, terminated by Hewitt on Friday, pushed the success rate up to 65 per cent.

The old swagger is back and this time it appears to be built on firmer foundations, constructed by Langevad, the physiotherapist Ryan Kendrick ­ both of whom travel with him on the circuit ­ and fitness trainer Marca Reid, who is based in Spain. "It's a real team effort," Rusedski said. "Ryan's helped keep the body together, and all the work in Spain seems to have paid off. If I have an ache or a niggle, I get an answer to it right away from my physio and don't have to wait around for treatment. If I need a massage, somebody takes care of that right away. If you look at most of the top guys these days, they have a physio or trainer with them as well as a coach, because of the wear-and-tear that most tennis players put on their bodies, so it's a real plus.

"What's Brad's done is show me how to move around the court differently, to take the strain and stresses off me, plus things like how to play some wide balls with a more open stance. I'm more relaxed and I feel a lot better. In November, I had to reconstruct my whole tennis game and I'm becoming a more complete player as well."

For the softly-spoken Langevad, the season's results are in one sense as important as for Rusedski, whose success would reflect well on the Australian's philosophy of a wholly scientific approach, of which he says: "Most coaches don't understand the science of tennis. There's a higher level of coaching that hasn't been reached. That's where I'm going, as far as I can." A former professional tennis player in Australia, he has a scientific training, in bio-chemistry, physics and statistics, plus what he calls "a good way of turning moving bodies round in my mind ­ I'm very strong on three- dimensional physics".

He relies, too, on stroke-by-stroke analysis of a player's game ­ a more informative version of football's Opta statistics ­ and now has computer profiles of more than 70 potential opponents, which are studied in advance of Rusedski meeting them: "We even unravelled some weaknesses in Agassi's ground strokes, believe it or not."

Although credited with rebuilding Pat Cash's game after injury, he had been looking out for a current player to work with, and when Cash ­ who had briefly become Rusedski's sixth coach in five years ­ recommended him, "I thought halle-bloody-lujah!" In the preceding 12 months, Rusedski underwent a foot operation that caused him to miss the Australian Open and the Davis Cup defeat by the Czech Republic; blew out spectacularly at Queen's and Wimbledon (allowing Vince Spadea to end the longest losing run on the ATP circuit), and lost his singles match in the ill-starred Davis Cup tie with Ecuador before withdrawing from the doubles and reverse singles.

After filming him in defeat at Brighton, Langevad concluded: "He had fallen apart physically, and his shots had gone as well." The two things, he believes, are inextricably linked, since "where there's most weakness on a shot, there'll be most chance of injury". Rusedski's honesty, as well as his willingness to work, appealed to his new mentor: "He's brave and creative at the same time. He often asked me, 'How could I have got to No 4 in the world when my game's so crap?' "

The answer appeared to be that talent can propel a player only so far, at which point what Langevad calls his "artillery" fails him and he slips back down the rankings. In contrast, "Sampras is stronger than most in most areas. He's got four shots that you'd rate seven out of ten and a couple under seven. If you do that with every player, and add them up, you get the world rankings."

Interestingly, he is not a great believer in mind games, taking the view that a player's confidence comes from faith in technical ability and the right preparation: "Psychology is over-rated. There's no need for a coach to be yelling and screaming, because there's always a logical reason for mistakes. As for nerves, it's like exams, the easiest way to get nervous is not to be prepared."

Like a student cramming at the last moment, Rusedski can often been seen sitting at court-side studying his notes. Friday's defeat notwithstanding, he is learning the lessons and from a low of 69 last December, is climbing the rankings ladder again. In the excitement of his emphatic victory over the Wimbledon semi-finalist Vladimir Voltchkov earlier in the week, the softly-spoken Langevad even lost his scientific detachment for a moment: "To hell with 75 per cent. My target is to get him winning every match."