Andy Murray is hoping to capitalise on his recent Rome success at the French Open as he chases after his maiden title in Roland Garros.
The world No.2 received a boost ahead of the tournament after defeating world No.1 Novak Djokovic in the final of the Rome Masters. The triumph rewarded Murray with his first win over the world No.1 on the clay as well as his second Masters title on the surface. Playing in three clay court tournaments this year, Murray currently has a win-loss record of 12-2. His two losses were to Rafael Nadal in Monte Carlo and Djokovic in Madrid. The recent results have been ideal preparation for Murray ahead of the second grand slam of the season.
“I had great preparation now going into the French Open as well with a lot of matches. I have played against Rafa a couple of times, Novak a couple of times. I have not won all of the matches, but competed extremely well even in the ones I have lost.” Murray recently said in Rome.
There is still room for improvement in Murray’s game and the 29-year-old is the first to point this out. Yesterday Murray took to the court at Roland Garros to conduct his first practice session. The world No.2 openly admitted that he will need to make some changes to his game in order to adapt to the conditions in Paris, which is expected to be affected by rain during the first week of the tournament.
“It’s going to be tough, the conditions are meant to be pretty bad the next few days with the rain. It’s quite different here to Rome, especially playing a little bit slower,” the 29-year-old said.
“I need to make some adjustments there, but it’s been a good few weeks.”
Murray is a three-time semifinalist at the French Open, winning 78% of his matches in the tournament (28 out of 36). Aided by this encouraging record, Murray is hoping to break new territory and reach the final this year. No British player has reached a French Open men’s singles final since Bunny Austin in 1937. The world No.2 is aware of how tricky the task will be with many other worthy contenders battling for the title.
“A lot of the guys here are playing really well,” Murray said about the competition in the men’s draw.
Rafa’s playing well in the last few weeks, Novak’s obviously every week and he’s playing fantastic.
“[Kei] Nishikori has had a good run on clay, Stan’s [Stan Wawrinka] obviously coming back as defending champion too.
“There are a lot of guys coming back that will be feeling good about their chances. I hope I can have a good run and get some good work done in the next few days to get ready.”
Throughout his career, Murray has won two grand slam titles with his last triumph occurring at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships.
ICYMI: See how @andy_murray rates his game heading into #RG16. https://t.co/NZ1JP7MaFt
— Roland Garros (@rolandgarros) 18 May 2016
