Andy Murray is in Rome preparing for the next clay court event, hoping to prove that he has fully recovered from a back injury and is ready for a return to live tennis action.
The British number one was forced to withdraw from the Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid due to his latest injury problem.
It was originally feared, following his no-show in Spain, that he may be a doubt for this month’s French Open, but Murray looks on course for a swift return to action.
The world number four revealed that his absence in Madrid was down to “doctor’s advice” and that the rest prescribed was a “big disappointment” to him.
But Murray is already in Italy looking forward to the next Masters 1000 tournament, when most of the world’s top players will gather in Rome.
The 24-year-old reached the semi finals of the event last year, before losing to eventual winner Novak Djokovic in the last four, and there were several tantalising tennis betting offers available ahead of that match.
Murray, who has one title to his name so far this year, had also made a sound start to the 2012 clay-court run, before his recent injury setback.vThe three-time Grand Slam finalist reached the quarter-finals in both Monte Carlo and Barcelona, although on both occasions he was beaten by lower-ranked players – Tomas Berdych and Milos Raonic.
Murray will be desperately keen to get more clay-court action under his belt before the build up starts in earnest for the second Slam of the year. The French Open is due to begin on May 27.
