Sky Sports look back at how Andy Murray has fared at the French Open
Friday 5 June 2015 10:11, UK
Andy Murray has never been a fan of the red stuff but this year his form on his least-favourite surface makes him a real danger at the French Open.
The world No 3 does hold a 23-7 record with two quarter-final and two semi-final appearances at Roland Garros - hardly the record of a man who is unhappy playing an attritional physical war that is clay-court tennis. After all, he did spend formative teenage years at the Sánchez-Casal Academy in Barcelona.
In his mind, Murray will feel that the final is attainable this year having fully recovered from back surgery which caused him so much pain on the dirt in the past.
But he arrives in Paris with a 10-0 record on clay this year, having won his first title on the surface in Munich and then winning the Madrid Masters against 'King of Clay' Rafael Nadal.
Murray will need to beat usual suspects to claim French Open glory this year.
He begins his campaign against Argentine qualifier Facundo Arguello, but could face a tricky quarter-final match-up against David Ferrer.
Nine-time champion Nadal or world No 1 Novak Djokovic would wait in the last four before a tantalising potential final against 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer.
So as the 28-year-old Scot begins his quest for a third major crown to add to his US Open and Wimbledon titles, we delve into the archives and look back at how he has fared in Paris down the years.
2006 - First round - lost to Gael Monfils
Murray first faced Monfils when they were aged just 10 and 11 respectively at a junior tournament in Rouen - a match the spectacle-wearing Monfils won. This was their first Grand Slam meeting and it was the Parisian-born player who came out on top 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 1-6 6-2 6-1 in the battle of the 19-year-olds. Murray, who was making his French Open debut, was hampered by a back injury and although he battled through the pain-barrier, it was the flamboyant Frenchman who came through to the delight on the home crowd. "It just feels really tight," Murray explained afterwards. "I couldn't serve. It doesn't help when you're serving about 50 or 60 mph."
2008 - Third round - lost to Nicolas Almagro
Murray pulled out of the French Open in 2007 due to a wrist injury but returned the following year, recording a five-set victory over French wildcard Jonathan Eysseric to secure his first victory at Roland Garros. With that monkey off his back, the Scotsman wiped the floor with Jose Acasuso before coming up against wily old clay-court specialist Almagro and, despite Murray showing flashes of brilliance, he lost in four sets 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 7-5. "I think I proved I’m a good clay court player," said Murray after the match. "You saw by the way that he reacted at the end of the match that it was a tough match. To win against me on clay, it is a very good result - I'm not someone that’s going to be taken lightly on this surface in the future. I believe that I'm going to be one of the top players on clay in a couple years. I just need a bit more experience, a bit more strength and understanding of how to play and I'll be up there with the best players."
2009 - Quarter-final - lost to Fernando Gonzalez
This was the year Murray finally put a good run together in Paris. Injury-free and in good form the Briton looked odds-on to reach the final after Robin Soderling conquered Rafael Nadal in the fourth round top open up the draw. Murray had already beaten Juan Ignacio Chela, Potito Starace, Janko Tipsarevic and then Marin Cilic to reach the last eight in the most unpredictable men's French Open in years Murray came up unpredictable player in the top 20 in Chilean Fernando Gonzalez - a former Australian Open finalist.
Murray and Gonzalez had played twice heading into their latest encounter, with Gonzalez winning on a Swiss carpet in 2005 and the Briton coming from two sets to one down in the third round of the 2006 US Open. Despite a spirited challenge, Murray went down to a 6-3 3-6 6-0 6-4 loss after being outmuscled by the ferocious force of the 12th seed's forehand on Court Philippe Chatrier. "He was spanking winners. You can't do a whole lot about that," said Murray. "He's got the biggest forehand in tennis."
2010 - Fourth round - lost to Tomas Berdych
Murray opened his campaign with another classic, fighting back from two sets down to beat Richard Gasquet 4-6 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-2 6-1 in a gripping battle. Juan Ignacio Chela and Marcos Baghdatis were both beaten in four to set up a meeting with Tomas Berdych for a place in the last eight. On a darkening Court Suzanne Lenglen the British No 1 made a limp exit after being thoroughly outplayed by the 15th-seeded Czech star in a rain-delayed match 6-4 7-5 6-3. "It was slow, wet, damp conditions. It was just heavy out there," Murray said. "The balls were gathering a lot of clay. The balls were brown by the end of the match. Just tough to see. It was dark in the end. But you can't make excuses about the conditions. It's exactly the same for the both of us. It's just tough conditions to play in, and he played better than me."
2011 - Semi-final - lost to Rafael Nadal
Murray's route to the last four was fairly untroubled without coming up against any of the big name stars, although there was the usual cliffhanger and that came in the last 16. Eric Prodon, Simone Bolelli and Michael Berrer were easily dispatched before he came through a five-set epic against the unpredictable Viktor Troicki to set up a quarter-final against wily campaigner Juan Ignacio Chela. Murray prevailed in straight sets but it was anything but straightforward. Next up was an ultimate test on the Roland Garros clay against five-time champion Rafael Nadal. The 24-year-old Scot converted only three of a bountiful 18 break points created against the Spaniard who ran away with a 6-4 7-5 6-4 success to reach yet another final. "Rafa is a better player than me on clay and has been since I've known him. That's a fact, but I feel I've closed the gap this year," said the Briton. "I have never played him on this court before and it's such a big area that when he gets a solid hit on the ball he can work you all over the place."
2012 - Quarter-final - lost to David Ferrer
Tatsuma Ito, Jarkko Nieminen, Santiago Giraldo and Richard Gasquet were all dispatched for the loss of just two sets as Murray met Mr Consistency David Ferrer for the first time at Roland Garros in the last eight on Court Suzanne Lenglen, looking to forge on to his sixth successive Grand Slam semi-final. The ruthless Spaniard stuck to his game-plan of attacking the Murray backhand, rallying patiently before pouncing on the short ball in a 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 6-2 win and make sure he would enjoy a good meal on the Champs Elysées that night. The world No 4 made 59 unforced errors and was far too errant on the forehand side. A dispirited and forlorn Murray said: "I’m not really, really disappointed. It was a decent tournament. If I'm looking at the positives, it was good to get into this position."
2014 - Semi-final - lost to Rafael Nadal
After Murray withdrew from the tournament in 2013 because of the back injury, he returned the following year still recovering from surgery and looking to regain his form. After defeating Andrey Golubev and Marinko Matosevic, Murray came up against Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round. In a cliffhanger of a match, the British No 1, having struggled with a hamstring problem with the match tied at 7-7 in a deciding set shoot-out, the players returned the following day and it was Murray who held his nerve to win 12-10. "I didn't sleep much and I woke up quite a few times. I was ready to play at four, five in the morning. I was very nervous. It's not easy coming back at 7-7. It was the first five-set match I played since my surgery"
After that epic, he made light work of Fernando Verdasco before a bizarre five-set classic against local hero Gael Monfils. Things were all was going swimmingly as he breezed into a two sets lead before the Gael-force hit back and looked in rampant form. A sluggish Murray was on the ropes and ready to go until he picked himself off the dirt to somehow bagel Monfils in 21 minutes and in near darkness to finish the job and reach the last four to the stunned silence of the Chatrier crowd.
A drama-filled tournament came to a shuddering halt in the last four for Murray who was thoroughly overwhelmed by a majestic and magnificent Nadal in the blazing Parisian sun 6-3 6-2 6-1. "That's the toughest match I've played against him," Murray admitted. "He was hitting extremely hard, extremely heavy, returning well, and was hitting it well on the run. You can't always control how your opponent plays. There were a few too many sets this week where I could have finished matches quicker. I only have myself to blame for that." Murray won only 10 points (two of which were double faults) in Nadal’s 12 service games and did not have a single break point. It was his heaviest loss in 156 Grand Slam matches since a 6-1 6-3 6-3 defeat to Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela in the first round of the 2006 Australian Open.
Nadal went on to claim his ninth Roland Garros title although in 2015 Murray is producing his best tennis on clay and has every chance of potentially reaching the French Open final.
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