Murray keen to take hard court form onto clay

Andy Murray is just 170 ranking points from the number three spot

Following an excellent hard court season, Andy Murray has stressed his desire to better his performances on clay.

Murray won what many refer to as the ‘fifth Grand Slam’ in Miami last Sunday to conclude the hard court season. He is the first British player ever to have won the title after he defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets 6-2 7-5.

The unforgiving tennis calendar means that the British number one must look straight ahead to the first clay court tournament in Monte Carlo which gets underway on Monday.

And despite having trained as a teenager in Spain on clay courts, the 21-year-old has outlined his desire to improve his game on the red stuff.

“I want to try and improve it,” Murray told his official website. “I think the clay court season will be very important for me. On the hard courts, I think my game is up there with the top guys.

“On grass it definitely got better last year. But on clay, it hasn’t been the same as them, and that’s where they have picked up sort of a lot of the points and stuff.

“If you got rid of the clay court season’s points, I think I would be very close to Roger, and not too far behind Rafa. I need to improve my results on clay. If I do that, there’s a chance I’ll get higher [in the rankings].”

Following his successful run in Miami, there are now just 170 ranking points separating Murray from Novak Djokovic and number three spot in the men’s rankings.

When asked whether being the first Brit to win the Miami Masters made it more satisfying, he replied: “Any tournament you win is great. This is such a tough one to win that it’s not just about sort of Britain all the time for me.”

“Whether Tim and Greg got to No. 4 and I reached No. 3, it’s not really what it’s about. I’m competing on the world stage, and I want to try and improve my world ranking and win the biggest tournaments in the world. It’s not so much about what’s happened in the past.”

Current Men’s ATP Rankings – The Top Five

1. Rafael Nadal 14470
   
2. Roger Federer 11020
   
3. Novak Djokovic 9010
   
4. Andy Murray 8840
   
5. Juan Martin Del Potro 4790