Andy Murray, the current world no. 1 of men's singles circuit is still trying to discover the best way to approach a Tennis match on red clay. It's been six months since Murray took the no. 1 seat in his possession though his overall game throughout the same time span has been a bit clumsy.
Last week, he competed in Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters but failed to make it to the higher stages of the Masters 1000 being upset by Albert Ramos-Vinolas, the eventual runner-up. For the British no. 1 difficult times comes ahead as the clay court swing marks a point that will put Murray to run around the clock in order to keep safe his slot.
A top seed of Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, Murray received a bye for the opening round and is set to face Bernard Tomic, a 24-year-old Aussie player ranked 41 in the world.
Murray should have no problems in getting past the former ATP rising star
Andy Murray and Bernard Tomic have four matches as a shared history having Murray as the winner of each one of the encounters. Their first clash on ATP ground took place back in 2012 in Brisbane, Australia while they last duel occurred last summer in Cincinnati. All their four meetings were played on outdoor hard so there is a shot that tomorrow's match could be a bit edgy.
The outdoor clay is such an unpredictable ground for top players. Last week, Monte-Carlo saw a handful of high-ranked players being ousted by their opponents.
Moreover, Barcelona's clay court has already picked its first victims as earlier today Richard Gasquet unexpectedly succumbed. Bernard Tomic, Murray's next opponent, got past Dustin Brown of Germany in 3 sets.
Murray with an extended drought in 2017
Perhaps the best season of his career, the run of 2016 has left some marks on Murray's output of tennis.
The first four months of 2017 shown that his level of confidence might be as high as it was but he lacks on execution. Despite playing several ATP events, of all calibers and sizes, the current world no. 1 booked himself a spot in the last act only once, and that happened back in January in Doha, an ATP 250 event.
It's a poor delivery for an athlete with Murray's stature.
Barcelona could be the right moment to shift the momentum to his side. As he resides in the first half of the draw, he could face Rafael Nadal only in the final. That's a matter of luck given the form the Spaniard has shown lately and the fact that he was only the 3rd seed in Barcelona due to a poorer overall ranking.
