Murray awed by Djokovic consistency

The pair emerged on the world stage at the same time, and while Murray has already achieved a top-10 spot and won five titles, Djokovic has established himself as the world number three and clinched his first Grand Slam title in Australia in January.

"I'm not surprised by the tournaments he's won," Murray said of his fellow 20-year-old. "I think more the consistency of his results has been unbelievable."

He added: "Normally for young guys, they play some good weeks, some bad weeks. But he's made the semis of every Grand Slam at least and he's played well in a lot of Masters Series."

British number one Murray has had a disappointing time since beating Roger Federer in Dubai last month but there have been promising signs in his victories over Feliciano Lopez and Filippo Volandri in the first two rounds in Monte Carlo.

The Scot, who has enlisted the help of former world number two Alex Corretja, is still finding his feet on clay after missing nearly all of this stretch last season through injury.

And he admits the physical and mental demands of playing on the slow surface provide a unique challenge.

Murray said: "The one thing that you realise when you do step on the clay court is that you can get fitter.

"When you play on the hard courts, you get away with hitting one big serve and the point's finished. When you get onto the clay, you realise you need to keep working hard to get stronger.

"It definitely, definitely makes you want to get in good shape and get fitter than the other players. "