Murray’s former coach voices his concern

ANDY Murray’s form is not a cause for great concern yet but that would change if it carried on through Wimbledon, according to the Scot’s former coach Mark Petchey.

Murray arrived in Paris for the French Open having won only five matches since February and on the back of a comprehensive loss to Fabio Fognini in his opening round in Rome.

The World No 1 has excelled on clay the last two seasons, winning Masters titles and reaching his first final at Roland Garros 12 months ago.

The chances of a repeat this year appear remote but Petchey does not believe it is too late for Murray to click into gear.

Petchey, part of ITV’s coverage of the French Open, told Press Association Sport: “Obviously it’s not what he would have wanted but sometimes in life it doesn’t always go smoothly.

“There is a little bit of luck involved and having to play Fognini late at night in Rome was a very tough draw, it couldn’t have been worse.

“Andy’s always been very good at not getting too high with the highs and too low with the lows and you’ve got to try and keep it in perspective.

“Some things in his game compared to last year perhaps would be the bigger concern for him, not dominating as much with his forehand, and I think his serve in recent weeks hasn’t been as accurate as he would have liked.

“I’m sure those are the things (coaches) Ivan (Lendl) and Jamie (Delgado) will be trying to fine tune. He’s a great player and, if he can get a couple of wins under his belt, I really feel as though he can still make a great run at the French.

“I think it changes after Wimbledon. If he hasn’t had a good Wimbledon — I don’t think people need to start panicking but Andy will be a little more concerned because obviously grass is a very natural surface for him and his success rate on that surface is almost second to none.”

Murray is spending significant time with Lendl for the first time since his shock loss to Mischa Zverev at the Australian Open.

Petchey believes Lendl’s presence and the best-of-five-sets format, which tends to play into the hands of the top seeds, are boosts to Murray’s prospects.

“These guys know how to win over five,” said Petchey, who coached Murray at the start of his professional career. Daily Mail