Murray says progress on clay will help at French Open
MADRID (Reuters) - World number three Andy Murray believes he has made good progress on clay this year and it has improved his chances of success at the French Open starting at the end of this month.
The Briton had his best result at Roland Garros last year when he reached the third round and made it to the quarter-finals at the Madrid Open this week before falling to fifth-seeded Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro.
He also reached the last four at the Monte Carlo Masters last month where he lost to world number one Rafael Nadal, French Open champion the past four years.
"It's definitely been an improvement this year compared with last," Murray, who turned 22 Friday, told reporters after his 7-6 6-3 loss to Del Potro.
"Going into the French I feel confident, better than I have done in previous years, and I'll just work on a few bits and pieces," he added.
"I'm going to need to but my game is definitely better on clay this year than last."
Murray said his work with Spaniard Alex Corretja, losing finalist in Paris in 1998 and 2001, had been paying off and pointed to his victory over Tommy Robredo in the third round in Madrid as evidence of his progress.
"I wouldn't have beaten someone like Robredo last year and I beat him comfortably," Murray said.
"I wasn't expecting to make finals or win tournaments but I wanted to play better and understand better how to play on clay and Alex has helped with that," he said.
"We haven't had that much time together but the time we have spent has been good and I look forward to the practice week before the French Open to try and improve more.
(Reporting by Iain Rogers, editing by Ian Ransom)
