Murray banking on SW19 to help him turn tables on Djokovic

Scot aims to use lessons learned from meetings with nemesis Djokovic

Andy Murray is hoping the familiar feel of grass under his feet can help him turn the tables on Novak Djokovic.

Murray and Djokovic met in the final of the French Open for the first time on Sunday but it was a familiar story.

As in their Australian Open finals of 2013 and 2015, early optimism that it might be Murray’s day gave way to admiration at the stellar level of Djokovic.

In his first Roland Garros final, Murray won the opening set but the match quickly ran away from him and a battling finish could not save him from a 3-6 6-1 6-2 6-4 defeat.

Djokovic also beat Murray in the Australian Open final in January and has now defeated the Scot in five of his 10 finals.

The last time Murray got the better of his great rival at a slam was in the final of Wimbledon three years ago, and grass is the only surface where he can claim an upper hand.

They also played at the All England Club in the semi-finals of the Olympics in 2012, where Murray triumphed in straight sets before crushing Roger Federer to win the gold medal.

“We only played twice on grass, I won both those matches,” said Murray.

“I have played some of my best tennis on clay, for sure, over the last few weeks and definitely the last couple of years. Hopefully that translates well on to the grass, which is a surface that comes way, way more naturally to me.

“I will try and have a good run on the grass. If we meet on the grass, I’ll try and learn from the last few weeks’ matches and see things I could have done better.”

Murray, who defends his title at Queen’s Club in a week’s time, will also surely welcome a bit of home support.

He found himself up against tough opponents and the crowd the majority of the time at Roland Garros.

After facing two Frenchmen in Mathias Bourgue and Richard Gasquet and Francophone defending champion Stan Wawrinka in the semi-finals, Murray might have hoped for some underdog support in the final.

But Court Philippe Chatrier resembled a corner of Belgrade as the massed ranks of Serbian fans finally roared their man to victory.

In the final game of the opening set, the crowd showed their displeasure at a decision by umpire Damien Dumusois by whistling loudly every time Murray tried to serve.

“That was obviously tough,” said the world No 2, who spent the first few days of the tournament answering questions about his temperament following comments from former coach Amelie Mauresmo.

“But I handled it well, I think, for the last couple of weeks. It hasn’t always been easy. I wouldn’t have done anything differently, really.

“It’s good to go through things like that in your career. It toughens you up a little bit.

“When I go back to playing at Queen’s and then Wimbledon, the atmosphere will be a lot different. It will give me a boost, for sure.”

“If we meet on the grass, I’ll try and learn from the last few weeks’ matches and see things I could have done better. ANDY MURRAY

French Open champion Novak Djokovic celebrates his victory over Andy Murray at the Place de la Concorde in Paris yesterday.