Andy Murray must be wary of Acasuso

Alex Corretja, twice a finalist at Roland Garros, has spelt out the danger to the British No1 having been added to Team Murray to provide vital expertise on clay and background information on those players who love the surface - like world No49 Acasuso.

While Miles Maclagen is Murray's lead coach, he defers to Corretja during the clay-court season, although there are limits to the time the Spaniard can spend with the No10 seed.

Corretja has television commentary commitments but took time to brief Malcagen during one of the many rain delays yesterday.

The tournament is already 59 matches behind schedule and Corretja has made it clear to Murray that when he eventually gets onto court he will face a player who can pose serious problems.

Corretja said: "He's very dangerous and when you look at the draw here you notice where the Spanish and Argentine players are because they are the worst to play in best of five sets on clay - where they are specialists. He is going to be a very tough opponent.

"It's always difficult in the first round of a Grand Slam, particularly against a player you don't know very well. Also, Andy had lost in the first round at the Australian Open and there is always some pressure.

"Andy will have some ups and downs against Acasuso - who will have the same - but I hope he keeps calm and quiet on court and does not stress himself if things are not going perfect.

"I have told Andy that on clay you have plenty of time to recover, especially in a best of five-set match. Hopefully, Andy is going to be positive and find a way to win. It's very difficult when you do not have the time to practise together. The goal is to get nearer Nadal and Djokovic and beat the other guys."

Corretja acknowledges that Murray can lose his cool on court and become distracted by his errors and has been hammering home the need for patience. Indeed, it would be a significant step forward if the Scot avoided one of his outbursts against Acasuso.

Corretja said: "Everybody needs to be calm - not just Andy - because nerves don't help anyone. He has good things to improve in his game, which is nice, and he has a great career in front of him. All he needs to do is work at his game.

"Without a doubt Andy can really play on this stuff. He will need to work and put in some more time. But if a guy like me was able to play indoors playing top spin, imagine what a guy like Andy, who is more talented than I was, can do [on clay]. It's just a matter of time."

Despite the rain yesterday some matches were completed with local favourite Amelie Mauresmo, the 22nd seed, securing a first round 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 win over Olga Savchuk, of Ukraine.

Dinara Safina, the 13th seed, started her French Open campaign with a comprehensive 6-1, 6-3 victory over the Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko.

The Russian victor was one of the form players coming into the tournament having won the German Open in Berlin.