Top

Murray eyes clay court momentum


 

Originally published on: 15/04/13 00:00

The world No.2 arrives at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on the back of victory at the Sony Open in Miami.

After getting some practice under his belt at his training base in Miami, Murray begins his European clay campaign in the principality, where he will face Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin in his opening match on Wednesday.

The Scot openly admits it takes him longer to adapt to the clay than any other surface, but he believes he is moving better than ever before.

“I feel good,” Murray said. “I practised well in Miami and it’s quite different conditions here to what I practised in. It feels quicker here and also the courts here are better quality.

“The movement has been the thing that I needed to improve on clay and I feel like I’m moving better this year. It has always taken me a little while to get used to the clay.

“I expect to give 110 per cent, to work hard in practice. If I do that, hopefully the results will be there at the end of the week, or by the French Open I’ll be playing good enough tennis to win matches.”_ь_ь

Murray has never reached a final of an ATP clay-court event, but he is hoping a good run of form in Monte Carlo and the ensuing Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Rome will put him in good stead heading into the French Open which begins on May 26.

“When I’ve been practising on the hard courts, a lot of things I’ve been working on have been hopefully to help at the French Open,” he said.

“But right now, I’ve got three big tournaments. You want to go into the slams with momentum. It helps, even more so on this surface than the others. I need to focus for each of the weeks and also the practice time for me is key as well on clay.” _ь_ь

Now get the WORLD’S BEST TENNIS MAGAZINE here


Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.