Andy Murray is on a mission to get back to his best form as he prepares to start his clay-court season in Monte Carlo this week.
British ace aiming to rediscover top form in Monte Carlo
British ace Andy Murray is on a mission to get back to his best form as he prepares to start his clay-court season in Monte Carlo this week.
The Scottish sensation is third seed for the tournament, which is being shown live on
Sky Sports from Monday.
He was in top form earlier this year as he reached his second Grand Slam final at the Australian Open in January.
But, following the straight sets defeat to Roger Federer, the British number one has so far failed to hit his stride after returning to the ATP World Tour in Dubai in February.
He crashed out in the last 16 there and was then well beaten by Robin Soderling in the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells Masters.
Then, as defending champion in the Miami Masters, he suffered an opening match loss to Mardy Fish and afterwards admitted it was the mental side of his game that was letting him down.
Head right
"It's down to me and getting my head right," he said.
"The last three tournaments have not been good. I haven't been that tough on the court, which last year and at the beginning of the year in Australia was maybe my biggest asset.
"Since then it hasn't been good and it's something I'm going to need to improve."
Murray would have skipped Monte Carlo had he done well in Miami but the extra time to practise on clay led to him asking for a wild card, which he received earlier this week.
As third seed, the 22-year-old has a bye in the first round and his opening match will be against either Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber or Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil.
The Scot is seeded to play Austria's Jurgen Melzer in the third round while veteran Ivan Ljubicic - the surprise champion in Indian Wells - is also in his quarter of the draw.
Positive memories
Murray can draw on positive memories of last year's tournament, where he reached the semi-finals of a clay event for the first time, beating Nikolay Davydenko in the last eight.
With Monte Carlo not being a mandatory event this year, world number one Roger Federer has chosen to skip it, meaning Novak Djokovic is the top seed.
The Serbian was beaten in last year's final by Rafael Nadal, who won his fifth consecutive title at the Monte Carlo Country Club.
Nadal, seeded second this week, will be just as desperate to do well as Murray, having been dogged by injury for much of the past year and having not won a title since last May.
The pair have been placed in the same half of the draw and, as last year, could meet in the semi-finals - an outcome that would represent a successful week for Murray.
