French Open | Murray gets a tricky draw

The French Open draw has been made and Andy Murray will open his campaign against the 85th-ranked Russian Andrey Kuznetsov in his bid to add a fourth grand slam to his trophy cabinet.

I have been training as well as I could the last few months but it’s just maybe in a couple of matches it’s just been a little bit flat Andy Murray

The French Open draw has been made and Andy Murray will open his campaign against the 85th-ranked Russian Andrey Kuznetsov in his bid to add a fourth grand slam to his trophy cabinet.
However, the world number one has not been at his best since climbing to the top of the rankings with rumours that he is still suffering from a virus circulating having overcome a series of illnesses and injuries these past four months.
Ivan Lendl will return to oversee his recovery at Roland Garros.
“I do think in this situation when I have been struggling, that having someone coming in with a fresh voice, different set of eyes, that can help and give you a different perspective,” Murray said. “And he’s been through some struggles in his own career, as well, when he was a top player, and he understands how to get out of it. He can definitely help me with that.
“If you achieve something quite big, it can be quite natural to maybe struggle for a few months. I have been training as well as I could the last few months but it’s just maybe in a couple of matches it’s just been a little bit flat.
“That’s where it is very important that when you do achieve something big, like when I won Wimbledon the first time, I felt like that was why I was playing, really. And I had achieved my biggest goal. It was, like, you feel a bit, I don’t know, a bit lost afterwards. You need to then reset your goals and, you know, maybe at times there has been a little bit of that.”
Murray made the final last year when he lost to Novak Djokovic but has yet to show the sort of form which saw him reach the title match.
Rafa Nadal has become the favourite to lift his 10th title at Roland Garros following his run in this season’s clay court swing collecting three titles in the process. The Spaniard faces Benoit Paire and should he get a good run going should face tye defending champion Djokovic in the semi-finals.
First round success for Murray could see the Scot facing Slovakia’s Martin Klizan or French wildcard Laurent Lokoli.
A potential major danger lurks in round three in the shape of 29th seed Juan Martin Del Potro, though at the time of the draw, the big Argentinian has yet to announce if he is fully recovered injury problems.
Third seeded Stan Wawrinka, could also provide problems though he did beat the Swiss in last year’s semi-final.
In the women’s draw, seventh seed Johnna Konta will play world No. 109 Hsieh Su-wei from Chinese Taipei in her opening round match. Success would mean her first win at Roland Garros.
Should she beat Hsieh, her second-round opponent would be either American Taylor Townsend or a qualifier, with a potential third-round meeting against France’s Caroline Garcia.
Heather Watson failed to qualify for the main draw after a comprehensive 6-0 6-3 final-round loss to Dutchwoman Richel Hogenkamp.
Elsewhere, the other British players all avoided seeds, with Kyle Edmund facing Gastao Elias of Portugal, Dan Evans taking on Spanish veteran Tommy Robredo and Aljaz Bedene meeting Ryan Harrison of the USA.
The women’s defending champion Garbine Muguruza insists there is no pressure on her despite a neck injury and questionable form.
“I consider myself as another player in the draw. I’m starting fresh,” the Spaniard said ahead of a first-round clash with 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone.
“It’s very strange to find first-round two past champions.
“She’s playing good. She played Bogota and another tournament where she reached the final or won. So I think she’s playing good on clay. It’s a good match to start.”