Tipsarevic test awaits Murray

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:31

The British number one lost in round three to Nicolas Almagro last year and his only other appearance at Roland Garros came in 2006, when he crashed out in his opener against Gael Monfils. World number 65 Tipsarevic would also be in uncharted territory if he was to win.

“I’ve beaten him two times so being scared of him would be pretty stupid,” said Tipsarevic of the number three seed.

“I’m the underdog, I don’t have anything to lose. He’s probably the best defender on tour but I’ll rely on the fact he’s still, in my opinion, not 100% comfortable on clay,” he added.

“My idea will be to move him as much as possible. He moves really well on hard courts, but on clay courts he still needs to use the slide a little bit more.”

Murray will be eager to repeat the performance he produced in the first round, when he dealt Juan Ignacio Chela a straight-sets thrashing.

His second-round display against Potito Starace was less impressive, proving he is far from being the complete package on clay, his least favourite surface.

Murray showed against Starace that his fighting spirit is still intact, and he also believes keeping his concentration in the long clay-court rallies will be important.

“On hard courts, when you are ahead you can just keep serving well and finish the points quickly,” he said.

“On clay, there’s always time for you to get back into the match and find your game, even if you are struggling. That’s one of the things someone like (Rafael) Nadal does well.”

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