Andy Murray wants to reverse his clay-court form against Stanislas Wawrinka, starting in Monte Carlo today.
The US Open champion and world number two started his season on the red surface against Eduoard Roger-Vasselin yesterday, securing a two-set second-round win at the Monte Carlo Masters.
His next assignment is a meeting with Wawrinka today, although the omens are not the best seeing as he has lost his two clay meetings against the Swiss in the past.
“It’s a very tough match,” Murray said. “He has played some great tennis this year and when his game is on he’s a tough player to beat.
“He likes this surface and I have lost to him on it in the past. It will be a good match and a chance to see where my game is at.”
The second seed needed just an hour and 12 minutes to get over the line yesterday, winning 6-1 6-4 against an overwhelmed French opponent.
“I got to 4-0 early on which helped,” Murray added. “I think he was a bit nervous, didn’t move that well at the beginning and then he started to play better.
“He was getting a lot of balls back and I tried to attack as much as I could. It’s a positive and good start.”
Murray is seeded above Rafael Nadal at the tournament, despite the Spaniard going for a ninth successive title.
He was a winner over Marinko Matosevic, while world number one Novak Djokovic shrugged off some poor early form to beat Mikhail Youzhny.