McEnroe talks up Murray’s chances

John McEnroe has a view on most things in tennis and while many are surprised by the rise in Andy Murray’s stock as a clay-court player and genuine contender for the French Open title, the opinionated New Yorker insisted that such grandiose billing was always a possibility.

Last weekend, after Murray beat Novak Djokovic to win his second Masters 1000 title on the rainsoaked crushed brick of Rome’s Foro Italico, there was a distinct tone of surprise in the Scot’s voice when making the admission that clay, rather than grass or hard court, has become his most productive surface.

In recent weeks the 29-year-old has comprehensively beaten the other two main contenders at Roland Garros – Djokovic and Rafael Nadal – and McEnroe, who has been a champion of Murray since his early days on the ATP World Tour, insisted: ‘‘Yes, you have got to say he is right in there with a chance after three semifinals in his last four outings at Roland Garros.

‘‘Murray has always known how to play on clay. Remember he went to learn the game living in Barcelona when he was 15 years old and got used to having the clay under his feet during that time. I believe he didn’t consider himself to be a clay-court player six or seven years ago, when he was really making his mark, because he put more focus on succeeding on the grass or the hard courts.

‘‘Now he’s a bit older, he doesn’t feel those pressures any longer and consequently he has been able to concentrate a bit more on the clay – and look at the results he’s come up with. Murray is supremely fit and therefore he can last with anyone over the best of five sets.’’

Murray took only one day at home between returning from Rome and heading out to Paris. It has been a non-stop month, with his brilliant win against Djokovic coming eight days after a straightsets semifinal victory over Nadal in Madrid. He is benefiting from the work he put in a couple of months ago on his second serve and with each match he plays looks more at ease moving and sliding on the clay.

And after beating first-round opponent in Madrid, the veteran Czech qualifier Radek Stepanek, there will be no surprises for him tomorrow night (NZ time) when he walks on to court.

‘‘Qualifiers will have played three matches on these courts and the conditions are different to last week in Rome, so therefore it’s going to be tough,’’ said Murray, who holds a 6-2 advantage in matches against Stepanek, including a 100 per cent record on clay.

The 37-year-old Stepanek will be contesting the main draw of the French Open singles for the 13th time and unlike so many of the other qualifiers Murray could have been pitched against, he is an experienced campaigner when it comes to handling the show-court environment.

Murray is likely to play with more freedom going into his ninth French Open, which McEnroe believes could make Djokovic tenser than ever.

The world No 1, winner of four of the last five grand-slam titles, makes no secret of the fact that his prime goal for the remainder of his career is to finally add the Coupe de Mousquetaires, given to the winner of the men’s singles at Roland Garros, to the list of trophies he has snared.

Last year’s defeat in the final to Stan Wawrinka was a savage blow to Djokovic’s ego. Wawrinka’s compatriot Roger Federer is the biggest name missing from the men’s draw, the world No 3 withdrawing on Friday after failing to recover from a back injury ending a run of 65 consecutive grand-slam appearances. TIMES