Andy Murray ready for Novak Djokovic clash at French Open
Friday 5 June 2015 09:08, UK
Andy Murray says his clay-court form this season will give him confidence heading into his French Open semi-final clash with Novak Djokovic.
Murray beat Spain's David Ferrer 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 5-7 6-1 in the last eight on Wednesday and will now play Djokovic, who demolished nine-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal in straight sets.
Despite losing the third set, the No 3 seed always looked in control against the Spaniard, running out a comfortable victor and remaining unbeaten on clay this season.
Ferrer had a 100 per cent record over Murray from four previous meetings on clay but struggled to handle Murray’s imperious defensive play from the baseline.
Djokovic has won all of his last seven meetings with Murray but the Scot is in excellent form, having registered his first ever victory over Ferrer on clay and his 15th in a row on the surface.
"I feel like to put yourself in a position to win against the best players in the world, it's not just about one day before the match," Murray said.
"It's about what you do in the whole of the build-up to it. Going into the match having not lost on clay this year and having some big wins on the surface is important for me.
"I will just keep doing what I have been doing."
Murray has enjoyed his best ever year on clay so far, securing a maiden title in Munich before beating Nadal for the first time on the surface in Madrid. The last time Murray played Djokovic on clay was in Rome in 2011, when the Briton served for the match before losing 6-1 3-6 7-6 (7-2).
"He has improved on clay, no doubt about it," Djokovic said. "Here he's been playing some really good tennis.
"He's moving better, serving very well, and he always had a touch, one of the best ground-strokes in the game for the last 10 years since he's been really playing.
"He's extremely talented. He's also a great fighter and somebody that has a lot of experience playing in big matches. The furthest he's got in Roland Garros was the semi-finals, he played last year semis against Rafa, so I'm sure that he's very motivated to get at least one step further."
Murray dropped the third set against Ferrer after losing a match point, but the British No 1 produced his best tennis of the match in the fourth to claim a hard-fought victory.
"It was obviously frustrating when you lose that set," Murray said. "But when you lose a match point and you feel like you have had a chance in the point, then it's more frustrating.
"But on the match point, he served close to the line and it was almost his best serve of the match, and then he hit a forehand close to the line and the point was over.
"I was frustrated to lose that set for sure but I got off to a good start in the fourth set, so my frustration didn't last long."
