ANDY Murray insists a gruelling afternoon in his second successive tournament final is exactly what he needs to complete his preparations for a tilt at the French Open.
Murray, fresh from losing out at the final hurdle to Novak Djokovic in Madrid, earned his place in the final of the Italian Open thanks to a straightforward 6-2, 6-1 victory over Lucas Pouille.
The Scot will face Djokovic again this afternoon after the world No 1 required three hours to overcome Kei Nishikori 2-6, 6-4, 7-6.
Murray insists he is relishing the prospect of a no-holds-barred encounter despite the fact the action gets under way at Roland Garros, where he feels he is better placed than ever to win, in a week’s time.
“Any time you get the chance to play the best players before a slam, it is great preparation,” Murray said. “The few matches I have played here have been fairly quick, but I know I will be pushed extremely hard in the final and be put in difficult situations, difficult moments.
“That is what you want. The French Open starts next Sunday, so there isn’t long left to prepare and it will be great to get another big match in before it starts.”
Murray was always in control against Frenchman Pouille and secured victory in 59 minutes to continue what has been an impressive and hugely encouraging run of form on clay. It was the first time the pair had met in competitive action and the gulf in class showed.
Pouille had lost in qualifying to Mikhail Kukushkin, but Jo Wilfried- Tsonga’s withdrawal due to injury allowed him to take his place in the main draw as a lucky loser. A bye in the first round and a walkover in the quarter-finals meant he only had to win two matches, against Ernests Gulbis and David Ferrer, to reach the semi-finals.
Murray seized the game by the scruff of the neck when he battled back from 40-0 down to break serve in the fourth game and, after a short rain delay, he produced another break to close out the first set. The players stayed on as light rain began to fall and Murray again broke serve in the fourth game of the second set before racing through the next three games to complete victory with an ace on his first match point.
In truth, the weather caused Murray more headaches than Pouille over the course of the day.
“I think it’s the first time ever since I’ve been on the Tour that I haven’t had the chance to hit balls before we got on the court,” the Scot said. “It rained pretty much non-stop and then they flipped the schedule round and we ended up being on straight away when the rain stopped. I didn’t feel that comfortable coming out on the court. He made quite a few mistakes and I served well to make it easy for myself.”
Murray had previously played against Pouille in practice in both Dubai and Australia and believes the 22-year-old has a bright future in the game.
“I practised with him in Australia before the tournament there and it just helps to see how their shots come off the racquet, the spin he puts on the ball and the pace of the serve,” he said. “He’s improving all the time, though. I think he’s going to be in the top 30 pretty much after this week and he’s going to be around for a long time.”
Pouille was the first lucky loser to reach the semi-finals of an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament since Thomas Johansson in Toronto in 2004. His run this week is set to see him rise to a career-high in the low 30s when the new rankings are announced tomorrow of about 32 in the ATP Rankings on Monday.
“I started pretty well,” Pouille said. “Andy is a great player, though. He returns all your serves , so, if you don’t have a great percentage of first serves, it’s very tough... he’s very offensive. I did not play the best match of my life, but he was much better. I think it’s a positive week for me, though. I will take some rest and prepare for the French Open.”
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