Will Andy Murray finally break his claycourt jinx?
Andy Murray is often criticized for his below average performance on clay; he has failed to reach even a single claycourt tournament final, let alone win one. Overall though, Murray has reached as many as 47 ATP finals.
The King of Clay Rafael Nadal has had a dismal season till now and is yet to beat a top 10 player this year. With Rafa struggling to notch up wins on a consistent basis, it may be the opportunity Murray has been waiting for.
The Scot's form has considerably improved this year after a dismal 2014, as he made deep inroads in Indian Wells and Miami. He also recently reached the milestone of 500 ATP career wins. But the irrepressible Novak Djokovic, who Murray hasn’t beaten since the 2013 Wimbledon victory, remains a huge worry.
While Murray has decided to skip the Monte Carlo Masters, he will look forward to his European clay court swing campaign in Rome, Madrid and Roland Garros. A notable addition to his clay court schedule, this year is the BMW Munich Open 250, where he is expected to be the top seed.
Some people attribute the lack of success of the Brit on clay to the fact that he doesn’t play too many clay tournaments at the ATP 250 or 500 level. As he has finally decided to play a clay court ATP 250 tournament, this might just be the year where he breaks his claycourt jinx.
It all depends on how he handles top players and players with good claycourt credentials like David Ferrer, Fabio Fognini, Nicolas Almagro and the like. Murray will have to pass those tests to cement his place in the Big 4.