Murray upbeat ahead of Monte Carlo return

Andy Murray is confident he is ready to return to action at the Monte Carlo Masters following an elbow injury.

The world No 1 is set for a first competitive match since early March when he takes on Gilles Muller in the second round of the clay court tournament today.

Murray last played in Indian Wells and missed Great Britain’s Davis Cup defeat against France as he continued his recovery.

But the Scot believes he is now in good shape to resume the build-up towards the French Open, where he was runner-up in 2016, and defend his Wimbledon title this summer.

“I would not start the tournament unless I felt comfortable doing that (going full tilt),” Murray said in a video interview on the ATP World Tour website.

“I have only been really serving at my normal pace the last couple of days as I was trying to build it up slowly to time it right for the beginning of the tournament... and the elbow has been feeling better every day, so I am positive about that.”

Murray, who received a bye into the second round in Monte Carlo, added: “It is not going to be easy, the first tournament coming back after a while, but I am feeling good and hopefully I can do it.”

Luxembourg’s Muller, 33, defeated Tommy Robredo 6-2 6-2 in their first-round contest.

Murray has won all his previous five matches against the world No 28.