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Andy Murray
At full stretch: Andy Murray had to fight hard to defeat wild card Jonathan Eysseric in his first-round match at the French Open
Andy Murray Andy Murray Jose Acasuso

Anxious Andy Murray's all set to step up another gear

Chris Jones, in Paris
27 May 2008


Andy Murray will start practising at full throttle for the first time in nearly a week today, to signal his recovery from a throat infection that threatened his bid for the French Open.

Having finished his course of antibiotics and emerged a less than convincing winner over French 17-year-old wild card Jonathan Eysseric, the 10th seed now faces a first meeting with the dangerous Jose Acasuso tomorrow.

The Argentine, ranked 49 in the world, has been concentrating on the South American clay-court section of the season and will be relishing the chance to expose the second-serve weaknesses and inconsistent shot selection that hampered the British No1 in his 6-2, 1-6, 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 first-round win.

After finding himself pressed into Sunday service - because this tournament starts a day earlier than Wimbledon - Murray has benefited from the longer break between matches. He is now feeling much stronger and happier with his ability to go into another five-setter - if required.

The Scot would be an attractive scalp for Acasuso, who was part of the Argentine Davis Cup team that defeated Great Britain. "It's a tough match and I will have to play much better than I did on Sunday to win," said Murray.

"I have high expectations of myself and I expect to be in the top 10 and the pressure people put on me is fine.

"Tennis is in a pretty good place with a lot of guys playing well and you would give every player in the top 20 a good shot at beating Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. A couple of years ago that wasn't the case and lot of good young players have come through since then. It's more interesting because there are more guys to keep an eye on.

"Getting into the top 10 was the goal I had from the time I started playing tennis and then it became about ranking points and how to get better and give myself the chance of winning Grand Slams."

Murray is prepared to produce his trademark expletives and glowering looks during his second-round match to ensure he stays in this tournament.

He accepts his image needs attention, but victory is his first priority - particularly on clay where mental strength can be just as important as the physical side of your game. He added: "Lleyton Hewitt is a perfect example of people who are different on and off the court. It's not about being polite on court - it's about winning tennis matches. You do your job to the best of your ability and if that means getting a bit hacked off, then I think that's okay because you want to win."

Federer made a solid start to his tenth attempt to win a first French Open title, defeating American Sam Querry 6-4, 6-4, 6-3. The world No1 said: "I always enjoy playing in Paris and I have had good success here reaching the last two finals. Now, it's about getting used to the conditions and I am relieved to get through the first one and from now on it should get a bit easier in terms of pressure."

Meanwhile, Marcos Baghdatis, the 17th seed, became the highest-ranked man to fall so far, suffering a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 first-round defeat to Italy's Simone Bolelli.

The Cypriot struggled badly after six weeks out of action for personal reasons.

But Baghdatis, who confirmed he will play Wimbledon next month, said: "Even though the result shows he had an easy win, I think I had some opportunities."

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