Murray’s ready to snare Paire in last 16

ANDY Murray will continue to try to navigate his way through his unorthodox draw when he takes on Frenchman Benoit Paire in round four today.

Perceived wisdom is that tennis is dominated by baseline grinders but Murray may beg to differ after his first week at Wimbledon.

The defending champion’s first two opponents, Alexander Bublik and Dustin Brown, see trick shots as routine strategy while his third-round foe Fabio Fognini is one of the most volatile players on tour.

The Italian zoned in and out of the match, racking up 44 winners, 49 unforced errors and one point penalty for a visible obscenity.

Paire is cut from the same cloth and, like Fognini, can be a danger to fancied opponents as well as himself.

Murray will surely never have faced as many drop shots in four consecutive matches in his life, while the Paire backhand is among the best on tour.

“He again has a different game to a lot of the guys now,” said Murray. “He has very good hands, moves well, takes a lot of chances, goes for his shots.

“Again, he can be quite up and down. But he seems to have played pretty well so far at this event.

“I expect that to be tricky. I’ve never played him on the grass before. I think until this year he hasn’t played so well on the grass himself.

“But I see no reason why he can’t play good grass-court tennis.

“I think I only played him once before, and it was a really tight match.”

That match was a suitably unpredictable affair in the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters last year, when Paire led by a set and two breaks and served for victory in the deciding set only for Murray to claw his way back.

The Scot later credited the win for sparking the remarkable run of form that brought him Wimbledon and Olympic titles and the number one ranking.

Murray may not have expected their second encounter to come at this stage of Wimbledon, a place Paire said he hated only three years ago.

But the world number 46 has changed his tune, and also believes he has overcome the paralysing nerves that once afflicted him.

Paire said: “I think I’m playing for sure my best tennis. I think mentally I’m different this year. I want to stay focused during all the match.”