MURRAY TO DEFEND ROME MASTERS TITLE

Peschici (Italy), May 14: Whether he likes it or not, Rafael Nadal will seek to rubber-stamp his status as the favourite for the French Open when he heads to the Rome Masters Monday looking to underline his return to form on clay.

World number one Andy Murray may have wowed the crowds at the Foro Italico last year when he bossed Serbia’s four-time champion Novak Djokovic in the final to claim his maiden win in the Italian capital.

But what was just the Scot’s third title on the surface, following wins in Munich and Madrid, has never looked further away.

A year on from a triumph that suggested Murray had finally mastered the toughest surface of them all, the 29year-old is back to square one after a humiliating exit to unseeded 20-yearold Croat Borna Coric before the business end of the Madrid Masters began earlier this week.

By contrast, Nadal cruised to a 14-0 win record on clay when he ousted long-time rival Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals on Saturday.

Even more so, if he comes up against Murray, who, to his credit, has blamed himself for an early-season slump in form that has placed huge question marks over his chances of a Rome repeat.

“Things can turn around quickly in tennis. Borna lost in the qualifying here a few days ago. Now he’s in the quarters playing very good tennis. Things can change fast,” he added.