Andy Murray Begins Preparation For Clay Season

Written by: Staff on 6th February 2013

Andy Murray Begins Preparation For Clay Season

epa03551090 Andy Murray of Britain in action during his match against Jeremy Chardy of France, round five of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 23 January 2013. EPA/DAVID CROSLING AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT |

Andy Murray will put aside his third straight loss in an Australian Open final and travel to his base in Miami to begins what he hopes will be a long period of training in hopes of improving his results on clay.

In addition to his own hard work with taskmaster coach Ivan Lendl, the No. 3 may also be counting on a bit of comeback rustiness from Rafael Nadal, who only resumed his career this week after more than seven months out with knee injuries which he admits may not be completely cured.

Murray has a career best at the French Open – Nadal’s playground where the Spaniard has won seven titles from eight editions – of a 2011 semi-final but believes that this season could be his chance to try and catch the recovering Spaniard on the hop.

“He’s been hitting balls for a while now, quite a few weeks,” Murray said as he announced his presence to start the grass season at Queen’s club, London the day after the Roland Garros final. “Provided physically he’s good and he’s getting enough matches, I’m sure by the French Open he’ll (Nadal) be in good shape.

“I have an opportunity there. I’m not going in as the favorite; my results wouldn’t justify that. But I have a chance,” Murray insisted.

Topics: Andy Murray, clay tennis news, Murray, Rafael Nadal, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News